.jpg)
Alex Brown is the Manager of the QM Centre for Creative Collaboration. Since he began working at Queen Mary in 2023, he has made a substantial impact on Queen Mary's capacity, resources and approach to engaging the creative sector. He has done this in manifold ways building a network of local grassroots organisations and linking them to the evaluation work of students in our Business Management school. He has led our Assistant Producers scheme, enabling students across the university in all three faculties to develop professional producing skills and working with local artists and arts organisations. He has coordinated projects on AI and the creative workforce, civic evaluation, and participatory research with young people. He has designed and developed the Centre website from scratch, creating a series of resources for academics, students and the creative sector.
Alex's engagement is always fuelled by deep expertise in the challenges and limited resources faced by the creative sector, informed by his long professional experience working in that sector. This shapes a deeply ethical approach to engagement, always acknowledging the power-imbalance that will shape collaborations between a university and tiny grassroots organisations or freelance artists. He advocates tirelessly for the value of creative work while also enabling the work of a truly interdisciplinary range of academics at QM to flourish.
Alex has worked with Grassroots organisations such as Mile End Community Project, Numbi, Season of Bangla Drama, Spitalfields Music, Wasafirii, as well as Youth organisations such as Spotlight and Toynbee Hall. He also partnered with advocates and policy makers such as Actors' Equity, Musicians Union, Arts Council England, GLA Culture team and DCMS.