Sofia Cotrona

Bio

My PhD title:

The social impact of co-curation and participatory practices in large museums.

My PhD summary:

This project analyses the social impact that co-curating exhibitions with individuals systemically marginalised in museum’s narratives, workforces, and audiences may have on institutional practices in large organisations and the communities engaged. In the context of museums, co-curation sees staff and external participants contribute and benefit equitably from collaborative curatorial practices involving collections, interpretations and exhibition design. Using a mixed methodology, including participatory research and an analysis of museum policies and exhibition practices, Sofia presents an interdisciplinary research drawing from theories of cultural democracy and feminist curation.

Sofia’s primary focus is to critically analyse the opportunities and challenges of developing long-term co-curation strategies that advance an agenda of social justice valuable for marginalised communities in institutionalised cultural spaces. She also sets out to expand IWM social impact framework, contributing to the development of a collaborative evaluation strategy to measure the potential impact of co-curation.

Specifically exploring exhibition-making as relational practices mediating identity, cultural values, and power, Sofia will be embedded in a cross-departmental IWM team in London to investigate and support the co-curation and evaluation of a temporary exhibition set to open in 2027.

My PhD supervisors:

Professor Cat Rossi, Professor Jonathan Harris; Dr Katharine Alston (IWM Senior Producer), Sarah Goodfellow (IWM Executive Producer Young People & Adults).

More about me:

Sofia obtained her MA Honours in History of Art from the University of Edinburgh (2022), before completing an MScR in Collections and Curating Practices (2024) at the same institution. Her dissertations about feminist and decolonial cultural studies were awarded the Robert Hillenbrand and Best Dissertation prizes.

As a curator, Sofia specialises in contemporary art and participatory practices. She has commissioned and curated touring exhibitions, working with Edinburgh Printmakers, the Travelling Gallery, the Centre for Research Collections (The University of Edinburgh), and Timespan. Awardee of the 2022 British Council curatorial fellowship Future Flow, Sofia co-curated the international exhibition From Where I Stand showcased in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Edinburgh, exploring relationships between India and Scotland.

A passionate advocate of social justice in the cultural world, Sofia has been working as a consultant in youth cultural policy with institutions such as Creative Scotland, National Museum of Scotland and Kids in Museums. Selected as a member of the 2022 Scottish youth delegation at Edinburgh International Cultural Summit, she represented young people’s voices to international states people at the Scottish Parliament and hosted the Edinburgh International Youth Summit 2022.

Supporting art accessibility throughout her practices, Sofia is a published art writer for The Skinny, Hyperallergic, and ArtUK. Her work in cultural communication includes working as Marketing Manager for the cultural organisation Timespan and as Art Editor and editor-in-chief for The University of Edinburgh student newspaper.