Neuza Claro Morais

Visiting Lecturer

n.morais@chester.ac.uk
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Neuza Claro Morais

I am a creative arts based practitioner, educator and researcher with a background in architecture, music and participatory arts practice. My work focuses on the connections between people and place, and how collaborative, creative methods can support more inclusive and socially just ways of engaging with the built environment.

With experience in both formal education and community-based projects, my work explores how participatory and speculative design can support more inclusive and socially just ways of engaging with the built environment. I see design not only as a way of making things visible, but as a way of listening, of holding space for different voices, memories, and hopes.

My doctoral research (EdD, in progress) investigates how participatory and speculative design pedagogies can reframe the way we think about cities, ways of knowing, and who gets to shape them. The project spans six international contexts and draws on lived experience, transnational dialogue, and co-creative research methods to explore the intersection between education, democracy, and spatial justice.



I approach teaching as a shared practice, shaped in dialogue, and always open to change. I try to create spaces where students feel safe enough to take risks, and supported enough to challenge what they know. I am interested in how we can learn together, making space for uncertainty, where we test ideas, and learn how to ask better questions.

I take an individualised approach to teaching, shaped by the belief that learning happens in dialogue. My interests lie in supporting students to explore connections between their own experiences and the wider cultural, spatial, and social contexts they are working within. I enjoy teaching across disciplines and value informal, creative spaces where ideas can be tested, shared, and developed together.

Teaching Activities

  • AD4000
  • AD5503

University of Chester Appointments

VL - Education: RECAP - 2025
VL - Art and Design 202: BA Interior Design; BA Product Design; BA Fashion Design; BA Graphic Design, BA Fine Art; BA Photography - 2024-25
Research Assistant - Music Media Communication, Screen and Performance - 2023-24
LF - Languages and Cultures - 2023 - 24
VL - Art and Design: BA Interior Design - 2023-24
Research Assistant - Music Media Communication, Screen and Performance - 2022-23
VL - Art and Design: BA Interior Design - 2022-23
VL - Education: MA Creative Practices in Education 2021-22

Non-Academic Positions

Creative Arts Based Practitioner at New Art Spaces, Grosvenor Shopping Centre, Chester

Qualifications

EdD (in Progress) at the University of Chester 
MA in Creative Practices in Education at the University of Chester 
MArch in Architecture and Urbanism at the University Lusiada in Lisbon 
BA in Architecture and Urbanism at the University Lusiada in Lisbon

Languages

  • Portuguese (native)
  • English (fluent)
  • French and Spanish (basic)

As part of the Crossing Borders I am co-leading two projects with Dr Emma Arya-Manesh:

  • Nourish to Flourish

    This project explores how creative practice can support teaching and learning around nutrition, sustainability, and health in primary education. Developed in partnership with five schools and facilitated by Kate Brinklow and Ellie Pennington, the project engages young learners through the arts to support informed choices about food. It encourages children to reflect on where food comes from, how it affects the body, and how daily decisions relate to wellbeing and the environment.
  • Mid-Summer and Winter Watch Parades

    Working in collaboration with artist Russell Kirk, the artistic director of the parades, this project examines the role of public ritual and performance in shaping civic identity and intergenerational belonging. Through observation and reflective dialogue, it explores how Chester’s long-standing traditions continue to foster collective connection and shared memory in contemporary urban life.

Memberships and Affiliations

  • Licensed Architect, Ordem dos Arquitectos (OA), Portugal
  • Artist Member, Castlefield Gallery
  • Urban Design UK
  • Architects Sans Frontières UK
  • CILA: Chester International Liks Association
  • Chester Heritage Festival
  • Chester Heritage Club

Awards

  • Santander Universities Research and Innovation Grant (2024)
  • Green Gown Award Nominee (2023)
  • Santander Venture Programme Finalist (2022)
  • Future Architecture Platform (Honorary Mention) (2021)
  • Susan M. Chance Award for Innovation in Education (2020)
  • Storyhouse Student Sponsorship Award (2019)

Publications

  • Arya-Manesh, E., Sampson-Chappell, L., & Claro Morais, N. (2025). Evaluation of ADAPTS-Powys (Shared Prosperity Funding). Powys County Council. Publisher. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10034/629257
  • Cornucopia - Issue 6: A Journal That Celebrates Excellence In The Scholarly Activity Of Education Students. Edited By: Simon E. Poole and Wendy P. Garner

Funded Projects

  • Winsford Community Art Installation

    Funded by: Cheshire West and Chester Council (2025)

    Role: Lead artist and researcher
    
A participatory public art installation engaging children and families in exploring local identity and placemaking.
  • Cultural and Community Project – Rhyl

    Commissioned by: Denbighshire County Council (2024)

    Role: Artist-educator and facilitator
    
Creative engagement project with two primary schools, exploring culture, place, and belonging through art.
  • Community Art Facilitator – Ty Pawb

    Commissioned by: Wrexham Council (2023–2024)

    Role: Workshop designer and facilitator

    Facilitated arts workshops for local families and young people as part of Ty Pawb’s creative education programme.
  • The Missing Story – Community Art Project

    Commissioned by: Chester Contemporary (2023)
    
Role: Artist and project lead

    A collaboration between two primary schools in Chester (Grosvenor Park academy and Dee Point) to recreate stories around the Chester Rows.
  • The Animal Architect: The Nest – Community Workshop
    
Commissioned by: Storyhouse (2022)

    Role: Workshop lead and facilitator

    An interactive families workshop exploring architecture and nature through storytelling and making.
  • An Artist for a Day – Community Art Project

    Commissioned by: Storyhouse (2022)

    Role: Artist facilitator

    One full day public temporary art installation co-created by the community. Themes of place, belonging, isolation and lockdown.
  • Public Art Installation – God and Architecture

    Commissioned by: St Mark’s Church (2021)

    Role: Artist and spatial designer
Created a site-responsive installation reflecting on sacred space, spirituality, and architectural form.
  • The Missing Building – Phase 1 and 2

    Funded by: The Hamilton Project as part of Refreshers Programme (2021 and 2022)

    Role: Lead artist-researcher-facilitator

    Participatory project inviting families to reimagine their cities through storytelling, model-making, and speculative design.