Polly Mackey

Polly Mackey serves as an Associate Lecturer for the MA Music Management and MA Music Production courses at London College of Communication (LCC), part of University of the Arts London. Beyond academia, she is a performing artist known as Art School Girlfriend, having released music since 2017 and toured internationally at major festivals including SXSW, Field Day, Latitude, Green Man, and BBC 6Music Festival.

Mackey's research investigates generative ambient music, noise, and techniques for infusing digitally-created music with human intimacy and warmth. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes leveraging technical production skills to foster artistic creativity across BA and MA Creative Music Production and MA Songwriting and Production programs, where she mentors students in bridging technical knowledge with creative expression.

Originally from Wrexham, North Wales, Mackey relocated to London in 2011, immersing herself in the East London music ecosystem through band performance, event organization, and industry roles at music labels and press outlets. She launched her solo electronica project in 2016, signing with Paul Epworth's Wolf Tone (Universal), recording at The Church Studios, and releasing her debut album via Fiction Records (Universal) in 2020 after touring extensively across the UK, Europe, and USA.