Professor Vanessa Toulmin

(Based between the School of English and the School of Geography and Planning)

In 2007, I became Chair in Early Film and Popular Entertainment at the University of Sheffield, becoming the first academic to be awarded a Personal Chair in this subject in any university. I studied Archaeology at the University of Sheffield and later completed a PhD in the University’s School of English inspired by my Lancashire fairground showmen family roots entitled 'The Social and Oral History of Travelling Showpeople from 1890 to the Present Day', for which I received the Chancellor’s Medal for outstanding achievement. While pursuing my PhD,  I established the National Fairground Archive in 1994 and developed it into a major international research resource of the history of popular entertainment. I have also curated major exhibitions such as Circus! Show of Shows, acted as creative advisor to several festivals and published a wide range of journal articles.

I am the author of eleven publications, including The Lost World of Mitchell and Kenyon, Electric Edwardians, and Pleasurelands: 200 Years of the Fun of the Fair. I have presented over 250 live film shows internationally including Professor Vanessa’s Twenty Performing Wonders and Local Films for Local People with particular reference to the Mitchell & Kenyon Collection. My four recent books on the history of Blackpool’s seaside architecture and amusement attractions were in partnership with Blackpool Council, where I worked for seven years as consultant on heritage regeneration.  

My work in Blackpool — a partnership which began after I gave a public lecture in the city on Mitchell and Kenyon — exemplifies the ways in which my research has helped to preserve, conserve, and present cultural heritage, and to increase economic prosperity through tourism and creative endeavours (e.g. shows, exhibitions). The partnership was through an AHRC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship which resulted in Admission in Classes.  This led to a 7 year consultancy with Blackpool Council as advisor to Heritage and Curator of the Showzam Festival held annually from 2008 to 2014. Part of this work was demonstrating the importance and centrality of the heritage buildings in Blackpool and emphasising Blackpool as a world class centre for the evolving history of entertainment both within the built environment and in terms of the shows and acts that performed there.  My contributions on the importance of heritage in sustainable regeneration are further demonstrated in both my work leading the £4m+ transformation of Morecambe Winter Gardens, a Grade II* Theatre in the Lancashire seaside resort, where I am Chair of the Morecambe Winter Gardens Preservation Trust, and through my role in supporting Sheffield City Council’s successful bid for £15.8m Future High Street Funding. My work with colleagues in the Faculties of Social Science and Arts and Humanities tracking the impact of Covid-19 on the cultural industries in South Yorkshire was fed directly into policy and economic recovery plans for the creative and cultural ecology of the region, leading to an additional £350k of support for freelancers.

As University of Sheffield Director of City, Culture and Public Engagement, I lead a team responsible for partnering with core city cultural institutions to link the University’s research and academic expertise to Sheffield and the wider region’s needs and drive cultural vibrancy. My team delivers a year-round programme of public engagement events and exhibitions including Festival of the Mind, a biennial celebration of University of Sheffield's research, and annual literary festival, Off the Shelf Festival of Words. In a typical year we organise over 300 public events, engaging over 100,000 people. We also deliver digital content via the University Player - a digital platform hosting videos, podcasts and digital exhibitions about the University’s research.