Rachel Blanche (MA MLitt FHEA) is a Senior Lecturer in Cultural Management in the Media, Communication and Performing Arts Division. She is also an associate member of the Centre for Communication, Cultural and Media Studies.
- Overview
- Research Interests
- Research Publications
- Teaching & Learning
Rachel specialises in Cultural Policy, having contributed directly to cultural policy formation in Scotland through independent consultancy work with the Scottish Government, Creative Scotland and many organisations across the arts and cultural sectors.
Rachel started her career in foreign policy, working in London and overseas as a diplomat before entering the field of cultural policy in 2003. Since that time Rachel has developed a profile as a cultural policy specialist and has undertaken extensive research on and for the sector, investigating many aspects of arts management and cultural policy. Rachel started teaching at Queen Margaret University in 2006 and joined the Subject Area as a permanent member of staff in 2009.
Rachel remains active in the field of national and international cultural policy formation through her involvement with the UK-wide Artworks programme and contributions to the development of quality frameworks by the UK arts councils.
Affiliations/Memberships to Other Organisations:
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Research/Knowledge Exchange Centre Membership:
Rachel’s current research centres around developing notions of quality in participatory arts settings. She also has an ongoing interest in global cultural policy development through the instruments of UNESCO.
Active Research Interests:
- Notions of quality and excellence in the arts
- Engaging participants in design, development and review of high quality participatory arts
- Enriching partnerships between artists, commissioners and funders for quality outcomes in participatory arts
Rachel currently teaches across a range of modules on under-graduate and post-graduate programmes providing insights on Cultural Policy and Fundraising and Development for the Arts. She also supervises post-graduate research on a broad variety of topics related to cultural policy and the management of cultural organisations and festivals.
