Gem Barton

Gem's research, teaching, and activism are inextricably linked to one another as they must be when innovating in emerging fields of education. superFUTURES is the testbed for pedagogical research, innovations in co-discovery and grounded in feminist and queer theory, whose findings, lessons, and insights have to date been published in multiple books and papers. Her teaching as research is deliberate, systematic, and reflective – she applies cross-disciplinary research methods (from queer, feminist and futures studies) to spatial design pedagogy to develop and implement teaching practices that advance the learning experiences and outcomes of students and teachers. Design Pedagogy as Design Research as practice-research-activism is the ultimate queering of institutional and disciplinary binaries.

As an international bestselling author, Gem has published titles in English, Spanish and Korean distributed globally, notable in terms of global impact are my works on creative employment strategies for designers – Don’t Get a Job, Make a Job: How to make it as a creative graduate – selling 50,000 copies of the first edition, second edition just released in Sept 2023. Available in 950+ libraries around the world and listed on dozens of reading lists globally from MIT to Oxford, sold in MoMA, Tate Modern and Waterstones. The new edition takes a progressive stance on creative working models reflecting on Covid, and the emergence of Gen Z into the workforce.

Her contributions to pedagogical research have achieved international recognition with keynote invitations, guest editorships of education-based journals, two board positions, regular peer review and academic advisory. Keynotes include ‘Extended Realities: spatialising futures’ at School of Architecture Art and Design, Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico, ‘Privilege of Imagination’ at Design x Foresight global seminar series, and UoP, Creative Teaching and Learning Conference. Additional conference presentations include DRS24 in Boston, IConA Creativity & Reality Conference, Sapienza Roma (2019), AHRA Architecture & Feminisms conference, KTH (2016), Anticipation at Lancaster (2024), Architecture Media Politics Society AMPS 2014. I guest edited Vol. 3 issue 2 Charette, aae Journal (2018) and serve as board member for RIBA Journal of Architecture (2020-) and Interiors: Design/Architecture/Culture (2018-). Peer review includes Journals, conferences, book manuscripts and symposiums (see CV for details). Research grant reviews include RCA Research Development Fund (2024), and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (2023).

Gem is a leading voice in queer spatial pedagogy, speculative spatial design, the role of design pedagogy in futures literacy, with specific regard for equitable, inclusive, and desirable futures – sharing and exchanging knowledge through papers, book chapters, international workshops. Her industry, media, academic reputation as a specialist in queerness, architecture, research, and pedagogy saw her elected the UK-wide academic lead for the non-profit Architecture LGBT+ in 2021, a public-facing role across all schools of architecture in the UK. Prominence in the field is demonstrated by (and a result of) my founding chairship of QuEAN – ‘Queer Educators in Architecture Network’, the first cross-institutional, critical community of queer spatial practice in higher education, with 10 committee members, and 50+ global membership.

In 2021, she founded Office for Speculative Spatial Design. Through this think tank she regularly contributes (pro-bono) to policy. She has advised on; Future of Film, Kantar (2021), Future of the Metaverse, Copenhagen Institute of Future Studies (2021), Collective Futures: policy and context, RSA (2021), Core77 speculative design awards (3l). In 2022, she advised the Government Office for Science Futures and Foresight team, contributing to the Wireless 2030 Report of scenarios depicting a range of (in)equitable futures.

Gem's advocacy for strategy for imagining inclusive futures is demonstrated by the alignment of her work with the UNESCO principles and SDGs (4,5,11,16) through the conception and leadership of ‘Experimental Realism’ community and research platform – a network of thousands of global readers, partnerships, activists, educators, and students. ‘Experimental Realism’ was founded in 2020 as a consolidation of her research specialisms (spatial design, design fiction, design futures, queer theory) converging with her pedagogic expertise in curriculum (re)design. The same year that UNESCO named ‘futures literacy’ one of four key competencies for the 21st century. At the RCA this research engages directly with the superFUTURES platform, and across programme collaborations with SoD, supporting the development of upcoming book with Routledge titled ‘superFUTURES; futures literacy for spatial designers’ (September 2026).

‘Experimental Realism’ platform supports UNESCOs vision for ‘futures literacy’, it was founded to build community, encourage open discourse, and facilitate the transition from education into practice. It exists in the world in 3 ways:

1. An Online ProjectStore, a global collection of speculative design projects created by students from universities around the world.
2. As ExRe mentoring programme, a free six-month global mentoring programme with a speculative design practitioner, running for three years, facilitating 70+ mentoring relationships (outputs range from collaborations on research papers, creation of open source resources, PhD applications, to business plans).
3. The success of the pedagogical model, and my subsequent achievements, and its contextual framing and articulation of other academic endeavours led to the commissioning of the book ‘Experimental Realism: (design) fictions and futures’.

Experimental Realism as pedagogy can be described as facilitating students through speculative spatial design projects to question, test and simulate the ways in which our physical, emotional, societal and intellectual behaviours could change in the future. This is a decisive pedagogic step away from ‘traditional’ notions of pedagogical design; pluralist not solutionist, dissident not affirmative, Socratic not didactic, different not better. In the ‘Experimental Realism’ book Gem brought together a leading international network of speculative design/futures academics whose teaching practices operate within Experimental Realism framing (Sci-Arc, Strelka Institute, NESTA, Goldsmiths). International discourse and adoption of the pedagogy is steady and progressive, via lectures, workshops, conference presentations, academic demonstrations, book chapters and more. Including Faculty of Design, CEPT University, India (2023), Politecnico di Milano, (2023), The New School, Parsons Paris (2023), Logros Creative, Mexico (2022).

• Senior Fellow AdvanceHE (2023)
• Royal Society of the Arts (2022)
• International Federation of Teaching Fellows (2022)
• National Teaching Fellowship (2019)
• Excellence in Facilitating & Empowering Learning (2017)

Gem is an award-winning educator, with accolades recognising impact, excellence, and pedagogic innovation. Awards include UoB Excellence in Facilitating and Empowering Learning nominated by students (2017), UoB ‘Woman of Impact’ awarded by senior colleagues for the leadership of curriculum design review and overhaul of BA Interior Architecture (2018) including Interior Educators awards for Best Course (2017, 2019), and Best Student Portfolio (2018). National Teaching Fellowship from AdvanceHE (NTFS2019) was awarded for her development and successful implementation of empathic inclusive design pedagogy that enables students to go out into the world and define new disciplines based on the independent critical design skills.

“Her graduates are design innovators and cultural agitators, fully equipped to lead and prosper in an undefined future” (AdvanceHE), the same year she also became a fellow at the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

In 2021 she became a member of the International Federation of National Teaching Fellows, culminating in my recent recognition from as Senior Fellow AdvanceHE for my contributions to design pedagogy; namely, embedding speculative design into pedagogy, and conception of a manifesto for queer spatial pedagogy and formation of QuEAN.

2024

• Barton, G. Shaw, S. ‘superFUTURES: POWER. PLEASURE. PRIVILEGE’, ANTICIPATION conference, Lancaster University (September 2024).
• Barton, G. ‘Pedagogy: Queer / Futures / Architecture’, ANTICIPATION conference, Lancaster University (September 2024).
• Barton, G. ‘(speculative) Futures for Higher Education’, AMPS Conference, Focus on Pedagogy Series, San Franciso (June 2024).
• Barton, G. ‘Queer Futures: Correlations Between Queer Identity and Imagination Literacy’, Design Research Society, Harvard University Graduate School of Design (June 2024).
• Barton, G. Parris, J. Emeke, C. ‘Queer(ing) Design’, Design Research Society, Northeastern (June 2024).
• Keynote: ‘Extended Realities: spatialising futures’, Monterrey University, Mexico, (May 2024)
• Lecture: ‘Queer Theory x Design Innovation’ Ford Design Lab, London (May 2024)
• Jury member, Core77 Speculative Design Awards (May 2024)
• Barton, G. Mardell, J. ‘Queer x Time’ Royal College of Art, School of Architecture Research Programme (2023-24).
• Barton, G. ‘Architecture: Queer in Identity and Action’ in ‘Building Inclusion, A Practical Guide to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Architecture and the Built Environment’ by Marsha Ramroop, Routledge (upcoming 2024).
• Podcast Recording: ‘Tending Tomorrow’ a podcast about the future of living well. Future guests will talk about ageing, the good life, uncertain futures, speculative design and fiction, the built environment, well-being, ecology, applied compassion and more (2024).

2023

• Barton, G. ‘Don’t get a Job, Make a Job: second edition’ Laurence King Publishing (Sept 2023)
• Barton, G. ‘[Spatial] Pedagogic readings of Queer Theory: Experimental Realism and opportunities for teaching and learning in speculative design’ In Queering Architecture: Methods, Practices, Spaces, Pedagogies, Bloomsbury (2023)
• Peer Review - DRS24 track: Joyful Complexity: Queering, Intersecting, and Navigating Alternate Futures (2023).
• Appointed Senior Fellowship of AdvanceHE (SFHEA) for contributions to design pedagogy; 1) Innovation in design studio teaching – ‘experimental realism’ – embedding speculative design into pedagogy, and 2) Commitment to innovative development and delivery of inclusive pedagogy - formation of a queer spatial pedagogy and Queer Educators in Architecture Network. (2023)
• Research Grant Assessment for Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (2023)
• ‘Other Ways of Being’ research-led design studio live project with the Charleston Trust, home of Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and their Bloomsbury Group contemporaries (2023)
• ‘Experimental Realism - pedagogy’ lecture and workshop, Faculty of Design, CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India (2023)
• ‘Experimental Realism - pedagogy’ lecture and workshop, MA Spatial Design, Politecnico di Milano, (2023)
• ‘Experimental Realism - pedagogy’ lecture and workshop, BA Strategic Design and Management, The New School, Parsons Paris (2023)
• ‘Don’t Get a Job… Make a Job’ lecture and workshop, BA and MA Architecture, Manchester School of Architecture (2023).
• ‘From Later: Crude Hints with Gem Barton’ Podcast recording by the Toronto-based foresight studio, From Later, recording the earliest phases of foresight and speculation (2023).
• Regional Jury member, Royal Institute of British Architects, South East (2023).

2022

• Barton, G (Ed.). ‘Experimental Realism: (design) fictions and futures’. RIBA Publishing (2022).
• Future of Metaverse Study, Copenhagen Institute of Future Studies (CIFS) through Office of Speculative Spatial Design (O-SSD) futures consultancy (2022) [read the report].
• QuEAN: Queer Educators in Architecture Network founded, with a founding committee of global international scholars
• ‘Experimental Realism, and the privilege of imagination’ Design x Foresight architecture webinar series, Logros Creative, Mexico (2022)
• External panel member, MA Interior Design Course Director interviews, Leeds School of Art (2022).

2021

• Peer Assessment, National Teaching Fellowship Scheme, AdvanceHE (2021).
• External advisor, course validation MA Architecture + Future Living, University of Manchester (2021).
• External advisor, course validation BA Interior Design (online), Falmouth University (2021).
• Future of Film, Kantar through Office of Speculative Spatial Design (O-SSD) futures consultancy (2021).
• Wireless 2030, Government Office for Science (GO-Science) through Office of Speculative Spatial Design (O-SSD) futures consultancy (2021) [Read the report].
• Collective Futures: policy and context, Royal Society for the Arts through Office of Speculative Spatial Design (O-SSD) futures consultancy (2021).
• Awarded Fellowship of International Federation of National Teaching Fellows (2021-)
• Appointed Architecture LGBT+ Lead Academic Advisor UK wide (2021-).
• Inclusive Practice Partnership Lead, University of Brighton (2021).
• O-SSD: Office for Speculative Spatial Design founded for futures research, design and consultancy (2021)

2020

• Peer Assessment, National Teaching Fellowship Scheme, AdvanceHE (2021)
• Barton, G. ’These cards will change your career’ Laurence King Publishing, (2020)
• Peer Review - Convergence The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies (2020)
• Peer Review - Architecture + Film Symposium, University of Cincinnati (2020)
• Awarded Fellowship of Royal Society of the Arts, FRSA (2020-date)

2019

• Barton, G. ‘Near Futurists’ Alliance: experimental realisms in/of design pedagogy’ at IConA - Creativity & Reality Conference, Sapienza Università di Roma (2019).
• Awarded National Teaching Fellowship for teaching excellence, NTFS AdvanceHE (2019).
• Athena SWAN charter, interim chair of the School of Architecture, University of Brighton (2019).
• External advisor, course validation BA Interior Design, Helsinki Design School (2019).
• Barton, G. ‘My dad is better than yours’ a ficto-critical short story, MAS CONTEXT 32: CHARACTER (2019).

2018

• Peer Review - Interiors: Design/Architecture/Culture Journal (2018>).
• ‘Future heritage’ - design studio live project with Newhaven Fort and University of Brighton (2018).
• Academic Advisor, MA Interior Architecture Research & Design, Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam (2018).

2017

• ‘Ghost’ - live collaboration project with Royal Society Arts and Brighton International Festival (2017).
• Barton, G. ‘Academia imitates life: ‘atypical’’ in CHARETTE, Journal of the Association of Architectural Educators, Vol.3 issue 2 (2017)
• Barton, G. Harriss, H. ‘Gendered, Non-Gendered, Re-Gendered Tools for Spatial Production’ in ARCHITECTURE AND CULTURE JOURNAL: Styles of Queer Feminist Practices and Objects in Architecture, Vol.5 Issue 3 (2017)

2016

• Barton, G. ‘Architecture 2.0’ in The Gendered Profession, RIBA Publishing, (2016). Eds. Harriss, Morrow, Soane, Benedict Brown. (2016)
• Barton, G. & Harriss, H. ‘Gendered, non-gendered, re-gendered tools of spatial production’ at AHRA - ARCHITECTURE & FEMINISMS CONFERENCE, KTH Stockholm, (2016)
• Barton, G. ‘The Grey Area between Reality and Representation: The Practices of Architects and Filmmakers’ in Filming the City – urban documents, design practices & social criticism through the lens’ Ed. G. Cairns. Intellect books (2016)
• Barton, G.  Editorship of ‘0 hours contracts - the role and impact of ‘transient’ teachers in architectural education’. Vol. 3 issue 2 Charette, Journal of the Association of Architectural Educators (2016-18).
• Barton, G. ‘Don’t get a Job, Make a Job: how to make it as a creative graduate’ Laurence King Publishing (2016).
• Barton, G.  Editorship ‘Housing, House, Home’ Project Orange Architects practice-based research journal. (2016).
• ‘Don’t Get a Job… Make a Job’ Lecture and book signing, Bartlett School of Architecture (2016).
• ‘Don’t Get a Job… Make a Job’ Lecture and book signing, Brighton Digital Festival (2016).
• ‘Don’t Get a Job… Make a Job’ Lecture and book signing, D&AD NEW BLOOD (2016).
• ‘Don’t Get a Job… Make a Job’ Lecture and book signing, Young Creative Council (2016).
• ‘Don’t Get a Job… Make a Job’ Lecture and book signing, Camberwell College of Art (2016).
• ‘Don’t Get a Job… Make a Job’ Lecture and book signing, Portsmouth School of Architecture (2016).
• ‘Tomorrow’s Designers’ Lecture and panel discussion, The Design Museum (2016).
• ‘Inhabitation and Deception’ Lecture, Royal College of Art (2016).

2015

• Barton, G. ‘Architecture - Teaching the Future / The Future of Teaching’ at DRS LEARNxDESIGN CONFERENCE, SAIC Chicago, (2015).
• Barton, G. ‘Universities are not in the business of producing faster horses’ in Architects Journal, (2015).

2014

• Barton, G. ‘Architects & Filmmakers - The Grey Area’ at Architecture Media Politics Society - Mediated City Conference, Ravensbourne University (2014).
• ‘The Future of Architectural Education’ Lecture and panel discussion, Architecture Foundation (2014).
• Barton, G. ‘Movable Feast’ artwork exhibited in ‘To Be Destroyed’ at Museum Contemporary Art Canada, (2014).

• External Examiner, UCL Goldsmiths: MA Design: Expanded Practice (2023-27)
• External Examiner, University of Plymouth: BA (Hons) Interior Design (2020-23)
• Board Member, RIBA Journal of Architecture (2020-)
• Chief Examiner, School of Design at Glasgow School of Art (2016-21)
• External Examiner, BA (Hons) Interior Design programme at the Glasgow School of Art, and BA (Hons) Interior Design, Singapore Institute of technology, Singapore (2016-21)
• Editorial Board Member of Interiors: Design/Architecture/Culture (2018-)

Gem's awards and recognition have led to high profile and international appointments; Chief External Examiner for the School of Design at Glasgow School of Art (2017–2021) including Temasek Institute in Singapore. Currently serving as EE for the MA: Design Expanded Practice at Goldsmiths, UAL. I have acted as external advisor for course validations and reviews including MA Architecture + Future Living University of Manchester (2021), Falmouth University BA Interior Design (2021) and Helsinki Design School, BA Interior Design (2019). I was an external advisory panel member for the Masters in Interior Architecture Research and Design (MIARD), PZ Institute, Rotterdam.