Programme Director of Fine Art & Photography
Dr Caroline Molloy, Programme Director for Fine Art and Photography at Farnham, is a member of the Women in Photography research cluster and a trained PhD supervisor. She co-edits Photomonitor and leads international photography projects. Caroline’s research intersects photography, memory, and visual culture, with a focus on marginalized voices.
Bio
Caroline holds a practice led PhD in Arts and Humanities from the Centre for History and Theory of Photography, Birkbeck; She also holds an MA in Photography from the Royal College of Art and an MA in Visual Anthropology from Goldsmith, University of London. In addition, she regularly writes for Visual Studies, the Journal of Visual practice, Photomonitor, 1000words magazine and Source Magazine.
Prior to commencing her academic career Caroline worked as an editorial photographer working for clients such as the Sunday Times, The Telegraph Magazine, Marie Claire and several Conde Nast titles. She has given talks and offers mentorship around creative practice and creative careers in business in a variety of contexts, including the New Narratives in photography project with the British Council of Pakistan and Grain Photohub, the Women’s Society at Oxford University, Farnham Maltings Creative Business Programme and Birkbeck School of Arts.
Research statement
Caroline is interested in interdisciplinary research with an emphasis on photography and its relationship to visual culture. She has expertise around photography and memory and has a particular interest in raising the visibility of the marginalised voice, whether that be through gender, a post-colonial or decolonised contexts. Her research is both practice and theory.
She has spoken at a number of national and international conferences such as Hidden Histories: A study of diasporic identity mediated through family photography, in Decolonising Visuality, Photo-Impulse, Colégio Almada, Lisbon (22); Representations of Home 2: Conflict and/or belonging thinking with Stories and Images, University of Lisbon, Centre for English Studies (17), A Sense of Place, ‘Test Beds’, University of Bedfordshire (17), Visualising the Home International Conference: University of Cumbria, Institute of the Arts (17); and exhibited both nationally and internationally including IIT Hyderbad 23, Format 23 and Jaipur Photography Festival 17.
She regularly writes for Visual Studies, The Journal of Visual Practice, Photomonitor, Source and 1000words around the relationship between photography and visual culture.
Research outputs
Written
- 2023 ‘Identity Politics: A study of diasporic identity mediated through family photography’ in Handbook of Research on the Relationship between Autobiographical Memory and Photography. IGI Global
- 2020 ‘Rethinking the photographic studio as a politicised space’, in Ashley, T., Weedon, A. (eds.) Developing a Sense of Place: Models for the Arts and Urban Planning. UCL publishing
Practice
- 2023 Selected work from the ‘Portrait Rooms’ presented in the Gender and Gesture exhibition at Woxsen University and the IIT Hyderabad. This exhibition coincides with the photography focused month in Hyderabad and was then re-presented in the Foyer Gallery at UCA 2024.
- 2022 ‘The Portrait Rooms’ publication with bookRoom, launched at the Small Publishers bookfair, presented at Format Photography Festival 2023, Family and Other Ties exhibition, Foyer gallery 2022.
- 2021 ‘Untouched Copy’ and ‘The Book of Backgrounds,’ in Bridging the Distance, with the Ph Research Network at Four Corners, also presented at ICA as part of the PGR research event 2022.
- 2021 ‘Women of Walsall’ (Photography and audio visual),’ in the Living Memory Project at New Gallery Walsall. https://livingmemory.live/commission/caroline-molloy-2, included in the accompanying Living Memory publication.
Research supervision
- Photography, Visual Culture, Post/Decolonial, Archives, Memories, Hidden Histories
- Co-convener of Family Ties Network
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Educational Academy
- Leading Department training, Higher Educational Academy
- International advisory board member Woxsen University, India (22-24)
- Mentor for New Narratives in Photography project with the British Council in Pakistan and Grain Photography Hub (23-24)
- Professional mentor for Farnham Maltings Creative Business Programme (23-25)
- Mentor for graduating students Birkbeck, University of London (21-22)
- Grant application reviewer, The Leverhulme Trust (21)
- Grant application reviewer, The Leverhulme Trust (16)
- Advisory board member for Black Country Visual Arts (17-20)
- BA Photography, University of East London (22-26)
- MA Photography, University of Central Lancashire (22-26)
- External validation panel, Partnership between Manchester Metropolitan University and the British University in Egypt (22)
- MRES examiner, University of Huddersfield (21)
- MA Creative Practice, Bolton University (20-24)
- External validation panel, BA Digital Photography, Ravensbourne (18)
- BA Photography, Christchurch Canterbury (17-22)
- Chief EE & BA PH Institute of Photography, Falmouth University (16-20)
- External validation panel BA Photography, University of South Wales (15)
- Recipient of ECR research award for cross cultural Gender and Gesture collaboration with Woxsen University, Hyderabad (23-24)
- Principle investigator on the Knowledge Exchange collaboration between Photomonitor x UCA bookRoom (23-24)
- Co-investigator on the Young Creatives 2 Knowledge Exchange project with Professor Anna Fox and Magnum Photos (23-24)
- Bursary Artist of ACE + Heritage Lottery funded: Living Memory Bursary (19-20)
- Encountering Difference contributor - Transnational Identity Art and Nation Research Centre (18)
- Participant in 209 Women in Parliament Project, Palace of Westminster (18)
- Shortlisted for 100Heroines in Photography (18)
- Teaching and learning excellence award: Student Employability Initiative (18) Coventry University
- Shortlist: Wharton-QS Stars reimagine education award (16)
- Exhibited Artist in Diaspora and Art Exhibition as part of Oxford Diaspora Programme (14-15)