The Global Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. Polly's work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
About Polly
Polly Macpherson is Associate Professor of Design Practice and Programme Leader for MDes Design in the School Art, Design and Architecture. She leads a group of internationally acclaimed practitioners and researchers who teach the thinking, inventing, designing and creating of sustainably produced spaces, objects, and artefacts relevant for 21st century living.
As the Associate Head of School for Post Graduate Taught study she works with a group of inspiring practitioners who teach across multiple creative disciplines - Art, Design and Architecture and Music, Theatre and Performance.
Polly's research is focused in practice based research methods and closely aligned with teaching within the fields of designing, making and objects with particular emphasis on materiality, storytelling and sustainably. As a visual cartographer and maker, she is interested in how things are made and how things can be made ethically and sustainability in order to produce new or improved objects and artefacts relevant for 21st century living.
Polly’s most recent projects include curating and developing new 3D Ceramic printed work for exhibition Green MAKING | MATERIALS | OBJECTS, Creative Industry Lead & Co-Investigator for Low Carbon Devon and South West Creative Technology Automation Fellow.
Green MAKING | MATERIALS | OBJECTS
This exhibition (2024) celebrated green making, materials, and objects by showcasing creators, owners and processes. It highlighted the essential connections between eco-friendly practices, materials, and sustainability. It invited viewers to reflect on their personal relationships with objects, the environmental impact of artefacts, and the importance of adopting more responsible ownership and consumer habits.
Green MAKING is a practice which emphasises sustainability in the creation of objects, 15 MAKE Southwest professionals presented work. In addition to celebrating innovative creations and objects, the exhibition included offering an opportunity to explore everyday MATERIALS. In the OBJECTS section 104 contributors shared stories behind their objects (a fake hummus pot from comedian Alex Horne, a metal hole punch from curator and broadcaster Kathleen Soriano, a ceramic pot from chef Tony Singh MBE), examining connections to items that bring joy, highlighting their influence on decision-making, and discovering how awareness might contribute to reducing their carbon footprint.
Creative Industry Lead & Co-Investigator
Sustainable Earth Institute – Low Carbon Devon, Co-Investigator Creative Industries - Supported by an investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the three-year £2.6 million programme (2020-3), supports Devon-based organisations to access research, business support, and engage with the University of Plymouth around the low-carbon agenda. There were many outcomes from this project including the Green Maker Initiative and related book, a timely collaboration project with MAKE Southwest.
South West Creative Technology Automation Fellow
In 2019 Polly was awarded this fellowship with South West Creative Technology Network and has started exploring how automation developments are effecting the skills, creative ideas and processes of Designer Maker / Craft Practitioners in the South West. Outcomes included a new body of ceramic 3D printed work and Unboxing the Black Box: Reflections on Making with AI and Automation.
Supervised Research Degrees
Design Making practice - Designing / Making / Craft / Material Culture / Objects / Sustainability / Digital Printing & Making Technology / Exhibitions
Teaching
Polly is interested in interdisciplinary designing, making and material investigation that inspires, challenges, disrupts and rethinks design practices to create unique and compelling objects, artefacts and user experiences. She is continually asking how things are made, how things can be made ethically and sustainability and how this can be taught in order to nurture individuals and develop creative voices.
