Sarah Perks, who has led on visual art and film at Cornerhouse for the last decade, has been appointed Professor of Visual Arts at Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University, as part of her role as Artistic Director of Visual Arts at HOME.
The second appointment at HOME, Artistic Director of Film, is a newly created position supported by the BFI. This position also comes with an academic tenure, and the successful applicant will become Professor of Film at Manchester School of Art. They will join Sarah Perks and Walter Meierjohann, Artistic Director of Theatre, in making up HOME’s three-strong team of Artistic Directors.
The new positions will allow HOME’s senior curatorial staff to bring their expertise to Manchester School of Art through keynote lectures and the hosting of doctoral research studentships. Manchester School of Art students will be able to benefit from a programme of volunteering opportunities which will both support their future employability and inform and contribute to the success of HOME’s wider audience engagement programme.
‘As a graduate of and former guest lecturer at MMU, I’m delighted to be awarded this professorship that reaffirms HOME’s importance as a site of academic research.’ Sarah says. ‘Academia strongly influences my practice as a curator across exhibitions, new commissions, artist film production and publications. This is the start of an exciting collaboration and will push boundaries in contemporary visual art practice and curation.’