Helen Gilbert

Helen Gilbert is a leading scholar of postcolonial and indigenous performing arts, with a particular interest in arts-based activism on environmental issues. She has taught at universities in Australia, Britain, Japan and Germany and worked with Indigenous performance-makers from various parts of the world to bring their work to festivals and exhibitions in Europe.

Her publications include several influential books on contemporary theatre and performance, exploring issues such as race and representation, cultural identity, nationalism, democracy, diplomacy and the politics and aesthetics of cross-cultural engagement. She is a passionate advocate of interdisciplinary research and has led large-scale international projects involving a range of scholars, educators, creative artists, students and cultural sector organisations. In 2013, she curated EcoCentrix: Indigenous Arts, Sustainable Acts (2013), a major London exhibition bringing together images, films, objects, sounds, performances and live art installations from various parts of the world.

Helen currently teaches at Royal Holloway University of London, where she is developing a new project on contemporary eco-activism, with a specific focus on water-related issues as taken up in embodied arts and protests. Her research has attracted several awards, including a Humboldt Prize in 2015.