Philippa Lyon

Dr Philippa Lyon is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Art and Media, University of Brighton, where she leads the drawing theme in the Centre for Arts and Wellbeing. With expertise spanning art education, visual research methods, and the intersection of drawing with health and wellbeing, she has established herself as a leading researcher in clinical drawing applications and cross-disciplinary drawing practices.

Her educational background includes a PhD in "Anthologies of British Second World War Poetry: A Literary and Cultural Analysis" from the University of Sussex (awarded 2005), an MA in Twentieth Century English Literature, and a BA in English Literature, also from Sussex. She holds a Higher Education Academy Fellowship (D2) awarded in 2019.

Dr Lyon's research primarily focuses on drawing practices across multiple contexts, particularly examining how drawing impacts health and wellbeing, supports education, and functions as a research methodology. She has pioneered work in clinical drawing with applications in healthcare settings, exploring concepts of 'touch' and 'presence' in drawing practices. Her research investigates the spectrum of drawing practices from highly specialized clinical applications to inclusive community-based drawing initiatives.

Her publication trajectory reveals a clear evolution from literary studies toward visual research methods, with a growing emphasis on the therapeutic and communicative applications of drawing. Recent work demonstrates increasing interdisciplinary collaboration, particularly with healthcare professionals, and a commitment to translating research into practical applications that benefit both clinical practice and community wellbeing initiatives.

• Higher Education Academy Fellowship (D2)
• AHRC peer college reviewer
• Peer reviewer for Anatomical Sciences Education, Qualitative Research, and Visual Methodologies journals

Dr Lyon has supervised 10 PhD students to completion and currently mentors several doctoral candidates across the School of Art and Media and School of Humanities and Social Science. Her supervisory expertise spans drawing in clinical settings, arts/health research, creative methodologies, and the relationship between drawing and writing. She has examined numerous PhD theses both internally and externally. As Research Mentoring Lead for the School of Art (2019-22), she contributed to developing research capacity among academic staff.

As a key member of the Centre for Arts and Wellbeing, Dr Lyon has developed multi-stakeholder networks connecting clinicians, artists, academics, and service users to advance drawing research in health contexts. She founded and facilitated the Drawing Research Interest Group (2012-2017) and served as Research Leader for the Drawing Research and Enterprise Group (2017-2019). Her collaborative projects include the Year of Drawing arts/health project with Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and the Refugee Solidarity Day of Drawing public event.