Andrew Hewitt

Andrew Hewitt is Professor of Art and the Public Sphere in the Department of Fine Art within the Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology at the University of Northampton. He is a practicing artist and academic whose work bridges theory and practice in socially engaged, dialogical, and politically charged art forms. He teaches across BA and MA Fine Art programmes, focusing on relational, participatory, and political practices.

His research centers on the intersection of art, politics, and cultural policy, particularly under New Labour’s 'Third Way' governance. He completed a practice-led PhD at Chelsea School of Art in 2012, titled Art and Counter Publics in Third Way cultural policy, which critically examines how public art was instrumentalized within broader socio-economic agendas. His work advocates for a 'counter-public art' that challenges institutional co-option.

Hewitt is a founding co-editor of the Art and the Public Sphere journal and a core member of the Freee art collective, which has exhibited at the Venice Biennial, Istanbul Biennial, Liverpool Biennial, ICA London, and Wysing Arts. Their practice includes performance, slogans, installation, video, and participatory strategies aimed at transforming audiences into dissenting publics.

The recent publications and projects reflect a sustained engagement with themes of political art, public assembly, and resistance. Works such as the 2014 performance A properly political art must be twice political and the AHRC-funded research project From Audience to Publics demonstrate a trajectory focused on art as a site of contestation and agency.

• AHRC Cultural Engagement Fund (2013)
• EPSRC Bridging the Gaps Fund (2012)
• AHRC European Network (2013)

He has collaborated with scholars across the UK and Europe, including Loretta Lees (KCL), Frank Moulaert (KU Leuven), and Mel Jordan and Dave Beech (Freee). He has held research roles at Loughborough University, University of Wolverhampton, and Manchester University. His professional practice integrates teaching, curatorial projects, and public interventions, positioning art as a critical force in democratic discourse.

He leads modules in Professional Studies and Fine Art Practice and Context, emphasizing the importance of understanding relational aesthetics, participatory ethics, and agonistic models in contemporary art. His pedagogy encourages students to critically engage with the social and political agency of artistic production.