Creative Manchester

💭Professor John McAuliffe reflects on his tenure as Creative Manchester Director

As one of the founders of Creative Manchester, Prof McAuliffe has played a crucial role in taking the Research Platform from its beginnings in 2021 to being an integral part of the University’s 10-year ‘M2035 strategy’. In this piece, he reflects on his tenure as Creative Manchester Director after five years of leading the Research Platform.

Read more: https://ow.ly/y0Ka50ZiGRr

The whole Creative Manchester team would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to John for his inspiring leadership, advancing interdisciplinary creative research and being a beacon for partner-enabled learning with collaborators across the University, Greater Manchester and beyond. We look forward to working with him in his new role as Associate Vice-President Cultural Portfolio at The University of Manchester.

Image credits:
Illustration by Stanley Chow (2026)
Photo by Jill Jennings Photography (2023)

Director of Creative Manchester, John McAuliffe will take part in an evening of poetry and music with Manchester Collective String Quartet, as part of the Didsbury Arts Festival on Thursday 2 July 2026.

Centre for New Writing

Manchester Collective X John McAuliffe - Inner Voices Shape-shifting ensemble with a mix of cutting-edge contemporary music and classical masterpieces, staged nationally and internationally.