Catherine Maffioletti

Dr Catherine Maffioletti serves as Associate Head of Research & Knowledge Exchange and Practice Hub Lead within the School of Design and Creative Industries (Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences). She is a practicing feminist performance artist of mixed heritage who creates collaborative artworks exploring emergent experiences of difference and subjectivities, with specific focus on performance arts and hysteric representation.

Her research spans feminist art practices and socially engaged design. She leads the €4.28 million EU-funded 'Empowering Youth through Entrepreneurial Skills' (EYES) project (2018–2021), developing digital tools to connect NEETs (young people not in education, employment, or training) with regional support services across North-West Europe. This work bridges creative practice with social entrepreneurship to address youth disengagement.

As Practice Hub Lead, she directs creative research initiatives integrating artistic practice with knowledge exchange. The EYES project demonstrates her commitment to applying design thinking for social impact, particularly in developing accessible digital platforms for marginalized youth populations through cross-border collaboration.