Digital Curation and the Networked Image

This Research & Knowledge Exchange Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research interest under the heading of: Digital Curation and the Networked Image: Volumetric Practices in Post-Internet Art

We welcome all research degree applications aligned with and in response to this brief.

This is a funded opportunity.

This PhD project explores how post-internet artists and curators use digital and volumetric technologies to shape new curatorial and artistic strategies. As networked and volumetric images become central to digital visual culture, the project examines how curatorial practice navigates questions of collaboration, authorship, and audience engagement in online and hybrid environments. 

Through practice-based inquiry, the research investigates how digital curation redefines the lifecycle of artworks, especially in relation to emergent technologies such as blockchain, XR, and decentralised platforms. Ethnographic engagement with digital art communities will complement experimental curatorial projects, combining critical theory with hands-on exploration. 

This research contributes to broader debates in digital art, network culture, and curatorial studies, enhancing understanding of how contemporary art is mediated, circulated, and archived in the digital age. 

This project is fully funded through the Expanding Excellence in England (E3) fund through Research England. The deadline for applications is 25 May 2025, and applications can be made through the link below.

Based in the Centre for Blended Realities, this project supports institutional research strengths in digital creativity, curation, and emergent media. It contributes to the Centre’s aims to advance research into underrepresented and experimental media cultures. 

All successful research degree project proposals must emphasise a clear alignment between the project idea and our Research & Knowledge Exchange strategy.