Understanding how North‑Sea heritage is shaped during a time of rapid economic, environmental and cultural change is at the heart of a major new doctoral research initiative led by the University of Aberdeen.
The University has been awarded a prestigious UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Focal Award in Art History, Visual Arts and Creative Practice to establish North‑Sea Heritage in Transitions (NHT) - a consortium that will support 30 fully-funded doctoral studentships distributed across three Scottish universities from October 2026
NHT will explore how heritage is interpreted, valued and transformed across the North‑Sea region, and will train future generations of art historians and creative practitioners to conduct impactful, community‑centred research.
Led by Dr Joanne Anderson, the consortium brings together a core team of leading experts in art history, creative practice, archaeology and the environmental humanities at the University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University, the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI Orkney and UHI Shetland). NHT is further supported by international project partner, The Greenhouse at the University of Stavanger, Norway.
Over twenty arts, cultural, heritage and business support organisations – including the North-East Scotland Preservation Trust, The Pier Arts Centre, Deveron Projects, Grampian Hospitals Art Trust, Aberdeen City Council (Cultural Policy and Partnership Team), Hospitalfield, Historic Environment Scotland, National Galleries of Scotland and V&A Dundee - will collaborate to support placements, co‑production, mentorship and knowledge exchange.
Dr Anderson, Reader in Art History and Honorary Curatorial Fellow at the University of Aberdeen, said: “Arts, heritage and the creative industries are essential to wellbeing, cultural identity and regional economies.”
“This award marks the launch of a brand‑new national centre of excellence for heritage research in Scotland and beyond. The consortium will contribute directly to Scotland’s National Cultural Strategy by strengthening place‑based cultural development and regional creative clusters and will prepare future research leaders for the transformational challenges facing the North‑Sea region.”
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), NHT will equip researchers with interdisciplinary skills in art history, visual arts, creative practice, digital technologies, and data and artificial intelligence.
Dr Antonia Thomas, Associate Professor of Art and Archaeology (NHT Project Co-Lead), UHI, said: “As the UK’s most northerly and geographically distributed university, the UHI covers approximately two-thirds of Scotland's land mass and has a long-standing record of collaborative research both sides of the North Sea. This exciting award will allow us to build on our existing strengths in place-based creative practice and cultural heritage at UHI Orkney and UHI Shetland. We are delighted to be contributing our interdisciplinary expertise in Contemporary Art and Archaeology, Art and Social Practice, Creative Practice and other specialisms towards training the next generation of researchers to respond to the creative challenges and opportunities of the changing North Sea region."
Dr Jen Clarke, Associate Professor at Gray’s School of Art (NHT Project Co-Lead), RGU added: "Creative practice has a vital role in shaping resilient places and communities. Gray's School of Art at Robert Gordon University is delighted to contribute its distinctive expertise in practice-based research to NHT, helping train the next generation of researchers to tackle cultural and environmental change through collaboration, creativity and innovation."
Professor Dolly Jørgensen and Professor Finn Arne Jørgensen (NHT Project Partner), University of Stavanger, said: “We are excited for The Greenhouse Center for Environmental Humanities to partner on NHT. Located in Stavanger, a city on the North Sea, we see NHT as a unique opportunity to centre our common environmental challenges in doctoral education. To facilitate green transitions, we need to transform our approaches to research and education in cultural heritage and the arts.”