Dr Thomas Mcguirk
Senior Lecturer
Biography
Tom McGuirk is Senior Lecturer in Art Theory/Critical Theory at the University of Chester, UK. He holds a PhD in Art and Design Education from the National Universityof Ireland (NUI). He has also worked in higher and further education and research in Ireland, Denmark and Britain, including at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, and in Denmark at KEA – Copenhagen School of Design and Technology (Formerly BEC Design).
Teaching and Supervision
Tom taught in Higher and Further Education in three jurisdictions (The Republic of Ireland, Denmark and the UK), including at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, where he was Lecturer in Painting (1990-97 and 1997-2003) at KEA – Copenhagen School of Design and Technology, Denmark (2005-2008) (formerly BEC – Design Copenhagen and Bornholm). In the UK he was Research Fellow in Fine Art Teaching and Practice at Nottingham Trent University (2008-2009), and since March 2011 at the University of Chester, where I currently lecture in studio practice, as well as art theory and critical theory. I have many years experience of teaching in the disciplines of Art and Design at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. I supervised PhD students at Chester. I have also acted as examiner for PhD candidates internally here at Chester and as external examiner at the University of Staffordshire, Stoke on Trent. I have also taught MA students at Chester and at Nottingham Trent.
Research and Knowledge Exchange
He has published widely in peer-reviewed journals anthologies and books, and have presented papers at international conferences, specialising in the research areas of Artistic Research and Practice Based Research, from an epistemological standpoint, with a particular engagement with drawing. He has also practiced and exhibited widely as a fine art painter and printmaker. Publications include the anthology (co-edited), Artistic Research: Strategies for Embodiment (2015), an essay ‘When art turns its back on the body’ in James Elkins’ book, What Do Artists Know? (2012), and a book chapter (co-authored) in Somaesthetics and Design Culture (2023), editors; Richard Shusterman and Balint Veres.