Piotr Cieplak

Prof Piotr Cieplak is a Professor of Creative Practice and Visual Cultures at the University of Sussex's School of Media, Arts and Humanities. He holds a PhD and MPhil from the University of Cambridge and has held prior positions at SOAS, Brunel University London, and the Africa Research Institute. His research focuses on visual media's intersection with post-violence memorialization in the Global South and queer narratives in film and literature. He employs creative practice-as-research, producing films, photo essays, and novels alongside traditional scholarship.

Notable works include the monograph Death|Image|Memory: The Genocide in Rwanda and Its Aftermath in Photography and Documentary Film (2017) and the forthcoming novel Zofia Nowak's Book of Superior Detecting (2025). His films The Faces We Lost (2017) and (Dis)Appear (2023) explore photographic legacies of Rwanda's genocide and Argentina's dictatorship, respectively, winning awards from the AHRC and British Film Academies. His films have screened internationally, including at Wicked Queer and the Rwanda Film Festival.

Cieplak’s research is supported by grants from the British Academy, Arts and Humanities Research Council, and Leverhulme Trust. His creative practice often addresses contested histories and marginalized voices, with a focus on postcolonial and queer perspectives. He currently serves as editor of the Journal of Media, War and Conflict, emphasizing creative research methodologies.

• Grants: Three British Academy grants (2018–2025) for projects on photographic memory in Argentina and Rwanda.
• Teaching: Currently on leave as a British Academy Mid-Career Fellow until 2026.