Steven is an academic, consultant and researcher working internationally in the arts, cultural and heritage sectors. He specialises in strategic development, arts management, cultural policy and audience engagement. At present, Steven is a Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin and Visiting Lecturer at Leuphana University of Lüneburg (Germany). He sits on the Steering Committee of the Cultural Research Network and the Editorial Boards of both the European Journal of Cultural Management and Policy and Arts and the Market. He is also Policy and Reviews Editor for Cultural Trends. His recent academic work has focused on cultural democracy, audience engagement and cultural leadership.
Recent consultancy projects include leading on cross-border cooperation in the arts for the Royal Irish Academy and developing a new Public Engagement plan for Chamber Choir Ireland. Steven has held research posts at the universities of Sheffield, Bradford, and Leeds and for seven years was Chief Executive of Audiences NI. He has an MA (Distinction), MBA (Distinction) and PhD and has lectured, taught and delivered consultancy work in over thirty countries worldwide. His new book, Audience Development and Cultural Policy, is published by Palgrave MacMillan.