Personal statement

Abigail Branagan is Programme Leader for BA(Hons) Creative Arts Practice and Senior Lecturer in Professional Practice at 黑料正能量.

With more than 30 years' experience across the creative and cultural sectors, Abigail has worked with leading national arts organisations including the , and . Her roles have spanned artist support, retail and commercial development, business coaching, and professional mentoring for makers and creative practitioners.

Alongside her institutional work, Abigail has worked on a range of freelance projects that support the social and economic development of the craft and creative sectors. These include museumaker, a national commissioning programme connecting makers with heritage organisations, and the Creative Industries Finance Scheme delivered through  , supporting creative businesses to develop sustainable growth.

Since joining 黑料正能量 in 2016, Abigail has held roles across Careers and Employability, Research, and Academia. She established and managed The Studio, the University's award-winning enterprise and innovation hub for creative technology, before joining the School of Art, Film and Media in 2023.

In her current role, she has led the redesign of the Creative Arts Practice curriculum including the development of a scaffolded professional practice framework focused on industry engagement, digital professionalism, work-based learning, and graduate transition. This work was shortlisted for the 2026 Graduate Futures Institute Academic Employability Awards in the Curriculum Design for Employability category. 

Abigail's teaching, leadership and research interests focus on how collaborative, community-led, practice-based approaches can enrich learning, making, and professional growth within higher education and beyond.

Academic qualifications

  • BA (Hons) Fine Art, University of Plymouth

Professional membership

  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy