Well done Dr Bonham-Carter!

Congratulations to Dr Charlotte Bonham-Carter who successfully passed her PhD viva on 20^th December. Charlotte was supervised by Andy Pratt and Marisol Sandoval; her external examiner was Professor Ben Walmsley, Leeds University, and Diana Yeh was the internal. The thesis was entitled : CONCEPTUALISING CULTURAL GOVERNANCE UNDER NEW LABOUR’S SOCIAL VALUE AGENDA: THE PRACTICES AND EXPERIENCES OF CONTEMPORARY VISUAL ARTS INSTITUTIONS IN LONDON (1997-2010). The thesis sets out to address the extent to which the normative conceptualization of cultural policy under New Labour’s social value agenda provides an adequate framework to understand the practices and experiences of contemporary visual arts institutions in London, in the period 1997-2010. By substantiating the discursive community of contemporary art and approaching the study of governance through the lens of cultural policy and contemporary art theory, the thesis establishes that in the dominant critical position, the interpretation of governmentality that is applied to the analysis of cultural policy is largely structural. The thesis identifies a gap in the literature taking account of the perspective and role of the skilled cultural actor in governance and capturing the nuance and variety of experiences across sectors and institutions.

Above and beyond the congratulations and success of the thesis, Charlotte certainly deserves the award for perseverance and productivity. She has completed the thesis part-time whilst teaching full time at Central St Martins School of art (she is course leader of MA Arts and Cultural Enterprise); she and her partner have also managed to have two babies in the process. Amazing achievement all round!