Dr Frances Liddell is a post-doctoral research associate on the UKRI EPSRC Decentralised Digital Economy Research Centre (DECaDE) in Design Informatics, University of Edinburgh. Before joining DECaDE, Frances worked as a lecturer in Cultural Practices at University of Manchester and a consultant lecturer in Arts Business at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London. She completed her PhD in 2022 at University of Manchester, which was a collaborative doctoral award in partnership with National Museums Liverpool and examined the impact of blockchain technology on digital ownership, authority, and authenticity in museum practices. Frances has written about her research across academic and media publications including Conjunctions, Media and Society, Flash Art, Right Click Save, and Art Quarterly, and has been an invited keynote speaker at conferences organised by National Swiss Museum and the Clark Art Institute. In addition to her IASH affiliation, she is also an associate research fellow at the Arts & Antiquities Blockchain Consortium.
Research Interests:
My research interests focus on themes including participation, digital materiality, and ownership, and I am interested in the way emerging technologies such as blockchains can challenge and reshape how we value and perceive these ideas in cultural and creative practices. My work often employs qualitative methods such as creative workshops, participatory design, and digital ethnography to critically explore emerging technologies in the arts, cultural, and creative fields.