Role
Dr Kevin Hunt is the Postgraduate Research Tutor (PGRT) for the School of Art and Design, overseeing doctoral student applications, supervisory teams and liaising between the School of Art and Design, the Doctoral School, and College and University level Degree Committees.
Kevin is also a member of the Design, Culture and Context team, teaching contextual and cultural studies to Undergraduate Fashion and Textile Design students at all levels, as well as contributing to the MA Culture, Style and Fashion.
Kevin completed the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE) with distinction and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).
Kevin supervises PhD students within his research area as Director of Studies and on Supervisory Teams. He is member of the Health and Wellbeing Research Group and the Creative and Virtual Technologies Research Lab.
Career overview
Kevin previously taught at the University of Nottingham in the School of American and Canadian Studies and the Institute of Film Studies.
Before joining the Design, Culture and Context team at NTU, and then taking on the role of Postgraduate Research Tutor for the School of Art and Design, Kevin was a Research Fellow in Fashion, Communication and Promotion (FCP) and taught cultural and contextual studies in the Graphic Design department at NTU.
Prior to undertaking Postgraduate study and becoming part of Higher Education, Kevin worked at a Literary, Film and Theatre Agency in Central London.
Research areas
Kevin’s research relates to culture, design and the senses, often exploring connections between science and culture. Key areas include cross-sensory transfer between diverse media (such as how the sensory experience of a film can inspire the material form and ‘feel’ of a fashion collection); research focussing upon perceptual and experiential issues within art and design, such as crossmodality, synaesthesia and sensorial empathy; the relationship between the digital and the physical, particularly using film as a tool for the development of textile design work (in collaboration with Fo Hamblin); alternate ways of seeing/sensing, including the overlaps between culture, design and sensory studies; and creative mapping of the lived/material environment.
Kevin is the Principle Investigator leading the British Academy funded research project ‘Learning Aesthetics from People who are Visually Impaired’, working collaboratively with My Sight Nottinghamshire (previously Nottinghamshire Royal Society for the Blind, NRSB, founded 1843) to explore surfaces and textures that are ‘beautiful’ and ‘purposeful’.
Kevin also leads an NTU funded live project with second year Textile Design students, also in collaboration with My Sight Nottinghamshire, exploring and developing sensory designs by working closely with people who are visually impaired.
Opportunities arise to carry out postgraduate research towards an MPhil / PhD in the areas identified above.
External activity
Kevin is currently the External Examiner for the Cultural and Historical Studies (CHS) module for Undergraduate students on the Graphic Design, Advertising, Illustration and Product Design courses at Buckinghamshire New University (BNU). He is also External Examiner for the Cultural and Historical Studies (CHS) module for the MA Prosthetics and Sculpting at BNU, which is run in conjunction with Pinewood Studios.
Over the last few years, Kevin has presented papers at the Wellcome Trust, the ‘Intersections’ conference (Loughborough University in London, with Fo Hamblin), Domus Academy (Milan, with Yvonne Trew), the University of Zagreb (as a member of the FCVC network) and the ‘Darkness’ conference in Svalbard, Norway (Island Dynamics). He spoke at the ‘Rhizomatic Approach to Fashion’ event hosted at Nottingham Contemporary and was a collaborator at the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes (IFFTI) conference hosted by Polimoda in Florence. Kevin was also a presenter at IFFTI in Jaipur, India, and has taken part in many other conference events held locally and nationally.
Kevin was part of the Art and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) ‘Science in Culture' workshops at The Royal Society, themed around ‘The Lived Environment’ (2015) and previously completed a successful Knowledge Exchange in Design (KED) residency working as a consultant to IDM Media: Film and Video Production in Birmingham (2013).
Kevin has written a number of articles for The Conversation, including an opinion piece about David Bowie’s eyes that has been read over 2,000,000 times and was republished nationally and internationally in outlets including The Independent, Mashable, The Cut (New York Magazine), The Daily Mail and The New Zealand Herald. Kevin’s article about Blade Runner 2049 for The Conversation has also been republished in Scientific American.
Kevin writes articles for Eye Magazine: The International Review of Graphic Design and Visual Culture and blog posts for the Huffington Post.
Sponsors and collaborators
Kevin works closely with My Sight Nottinghamshire on his current research projects, funded by the British Academy and through External Engagement funding as part of the NTU Enriching Society research theme. He was part of the Art and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) ‘Science in Culture' workshops at The Royal Society and AHRC Knowledge Exchange in Design (KED) residencies.
Kevin is an invited peer reviewer for the journal Visual Communication (SAGE), Vita E Pensiero Comunicazioni Sociali (Journal of Media, Performing Arts and Cultural Studies, based in Milan), and the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management (Emerald) as well as the book series Critical Introductions to Urbanism and the City (Routledge).
Kevin is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).
Publications
Selected Recent Publications
Hunt, K.J. (2018) ‘Eyes, Sight and the Senses on Fashion and in Film: Crossmodal Correspondences and Sensorial Empathy between Lars von Trier’s Dancer in the Dark (2000) and Johan Ku’s ‘Selma’ Collection s/s (2014)’, Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body and Culture, Vol.22, Issue 1: pp.31-68.
Hunt, K.J. (2018) 'Hella Jongerius: Breathing Colour', The Senses and Society, Vol.13, Issue 2: pp.244-249.
Hunt, K.J. (2018) 'Systematic Play', Eye Magazine, No.95, Vol.24: pp.68-73.
Hunt, K.J.(2018) 'Follow the Glitch', Eye Magazine [6 April 2018].
Hunt, K.J. (2017) ‘Colour and Vision: Through the Eyes of Nature’, The Senses and Society, Vol.12, Issue 1: pp.113-118.
Hunt, K.J. (2016) 'In and Out of Your Head', Eye Magazine [26 Sept 2016].
Hunt, K.J. (2016) 'Notes on Blindness: Sensory Cinema and the Beauty of Cognition', Huffington Post [11 July 2016].
Hunt, K.J. (2015) ‘The Eyes of David Bowie’ in Toija Cinque, Christopher Moore and Sean Redmond (eds) Enchanting David Bowie: Space/Time/Body/Memory, London and New York: Bloomsbury.
Hunt, K.J. (2015) 'Unexpected Beauty', Eye Magazine [4 Sept 2015].
Hunt, K.J. (2015) 'Camera, Gun, Eyes: Seeing Fear in the Photography of War', Huffington Post [21 April 2015]
Hunt, K.J. (2015) 'Adam Curtis's Bitter Lake: Clarity Through Collage', Flow: Online Journal of Television and Media Studies, Vol.21, Issue 5.
Press expertise
- Cultural studies (focussing upon sightloss, visual impairment, seeing differently)
- Senses and design (including design thinking and sensory design)
- Lived environment (participatory and inclusive design)
- Film studies (sensory experience of film)
- Science in culture