Emma Shercliff

Dr Emma Shercliff is Associate Professor of Textiles and Participatory Making at Arts University Bournemouth, where she teaches textile practices, coordinates the MRes Arts program, and supervises PhD students. With over 20 years of experience in creative workshops and 14 years in academia, her work bridges textile craft, participatory methodologies, and social research.

• PhD (Royal College of Art, 2015)
• BA(Hons) Textiles and Fashion Design (Cheltenham & Gloucester, 1995)

Her research focuses on textile craft traditions, participatory approaches to design, and gender dynamics in making. Key projects include the AHRC-funded Stitching Together network and community-led development of buoyancy aids in Zanzibar. She has co-edited special issues of the Journal of Arts and Communities and authored influential publications on participatory textile research.

Recent publications highlight trends in using textile making as a research tool for topics like cross-cultural skill transmission, emotional intelligence in craft, and community-driven design. These often intersect art practice with social science methodologies.

• Awards: 2014 Arts University Bournemouth Research Fellowship
• Grants: 2021 GCRF for Zanzibar drowning prevention tools, 2018 AHRC for Stitching Together network

Emma co-supervises PhD students in areas like textile narratives in collections, feminine affect in film, and Malagasy craft methodologies. She collaborates internationally, having examined PhDs at the University of Huddersfield and Edinburgh University.

She founded the Stitching Together research network (2019-2021) and contributes to community arts projects, such as inter-generational workshops in London and Zanzibar. Her work spans institutions including Royal College of Art, Goldsmiths, and ESMOD Paris, with a strong focus on cross-channel creative exchanges.