Dr Edwin Coomasaru
@ecoomasaru.bsky.social
Historian of modern and contemporary British, Irish, and Sri Lankan art. Research on gender, sexuality, race, empire, and ecology.
Pinned
I am beyond thrilled to announce I have been awarded a Mid-Career Fellowship from @paulmelloncentr.bsky.social and a Visiting Fellowship at @ucl-ias.bsky.social to write a book on ‘Queer Ecologies and Abundant Aesthetics in Sri Lankan Art, 1926-2024’. Pictured: Chathuri Nissansala, ‘Saudade’, 2024.
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
To celebrate the recent relaunch of Visual Culture in Britain, we are delighted to announce an ESSAY PRIZE for original research articles @vcib.bsky.social For more information please visit: www.tandfonline.com/journals/rvc... Thank you for sharing!
Visual Culture in Britain Essay Prize
Explore the article collection: Visual Culture in Britain Essay Prize. Published in Visual Culture in Britain.
www.tandfonline.com
October 18, 2025 at 9:16 AM
To celebrate the recent relaunch of Visual Culture in Britain, we are delighted to announce an ESSAY PRIZE for original research articles @vcib.bsky.social For more information please visit: www.tandfonline.com/journals/rvc... Thank you for sharing!
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
The Society now invites applications for its Workshop Grants programme 2026: bit.ly/4oPyUdZ
Grants provide funding for groups of historians to come together for a day event to work collaboratively on a shared project.
Closing date for applications: Friday 23 January 2026 #Skystorians
Grants provide funding for groups of historians to come together for a day event to work collaboratively on a shared project.
Closing date for applications: Friday 23 January 2026 #Skystorians
RHS Workshop Grants, 2026 - call now open to fund day events on historical projects - RHS
The Royal Historical Society is pleased to announce the next call for its RHS Workshop Grants for projects to take place in 2026. This scheme provides funding of £1,000 per Grant to enable historians ...
bit.ly
October 21, 2025 at 7:27 AM
The Society now invites applications for its Workshop Grants programme 2026: bit.ly/4oPyUdZ
Grants provide funding for groups of historians to come together for a day event to work collaboratively on a shared project.
Closing date for applications: Friday 23 January 2026 #Skystorians
Grants provide funding for groups of historians to come together for a day event to work collaboratively on a shared project.
Closing date for applications: Friday 23 January 2026 #Skystorians
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
Introducing our editors: @saradominici.bsky.social, Gary Bratchford, Victoria Horne, and @ecoomasaru.bsky.social. Interested in publishing with us? Please do get in touch!
October 21, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Introducing our editors: @saradominici.bsky.social, Gary Bratchford, Victoria Horne, and @ecoomasaru.bsky.social. Interested in publishing with us? Please do get in touch!
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
We are delighted to share the Call for Papers for our Spring Seminar Series 2026:
September 30, 2025 at 5:09 PM
We are delighted to share the Call for Papers for our Spring Seminar Series 2026:
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
Our upcoming seminar in the Global Histories of Knowledge series. The link to the meeting will be on the website: www.staff.universiteitleiden.nl/events/2025/...
October 1, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Our upcoming seminar in the Global Histories of Knowledge series. The link to the meeting will be on the website: www.staff.universiteitleiden.nl/events/2025/...
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
Join the launch of, ‘Spirits of Extraction: Christianity, Settler Colonialism and the Geology of Race’. By Claire Blencowe
Discussants: Goldie Osuri, Hannah Jones & Martin Savransky.
Date: Thursday, 9 October
Time: 4:00–5:30 pm
Location: Ramphal Building, R1.15
Discussants: Goldie Osuri, Hannah Jones & Martin Savransky.
Date: Thursday, 9 October
Time: 4:00–5:30 pm
Location: Ramphal Building, R1.15
September 23, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Join the launch of, ‘Spirits of Extraction: Christianity, Settler Colonialism and the Geology of Race’. By Claire Blencowe
Discussants: Goldie Osuri, Hannah Jones & Martin Savransky.
Date: Thursday, 9 October
Time: 4:00–5:30 pm
Location: Ramphal Building, R1.15
Discussants: Goldie Osuri, Hannah Jones & Martin Savransky.
Date: Thursday, 9 October
Time: 4:00–5:30 pm
Location: Ramphal Building, R1.15
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
Kicking off our fantastic line up with a showcase of new research! Get in touch if you are a postgraduate or early career researcher who would like to introduce their work to the field.
📍 Hybrid: N304, IHR, Senate House, WC1E 7HU and Online
📅 Thursday 16th October, 2025
⏰ 17:30
🔗 bit.ly/3INwCfO
📍 Hybrid: N304, IHR, Senate House, WC1E 7HU and Online
📅 Thursday 16th October, 2025
⏰ 17:30
🔗 bit.ly/3INwCfO
September 30, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Kicking off our fantastic line up with a showcase of new research! Get in touch if you are a postgraduate or early career researcher who would like to introduce their work to the field.
📍 Hybrid: N304, IHR, Senate House, WC1E 7HU and Online
📅 Thursday 16th October, 2025
⏰ 17:30
🔗 bit.ly/3INwCfO
📍 Hybrid: N304, IHR, Senate House, WC1E 7HU and Online
📅 Thursday 16th October, 2025
⏰ 17:30
🔗 bit.ly/3INwCfO
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
Sri Lankan research trip to Amsterdam: Vasantha Yogananthan’s ‘A Myth of Two Souls’ (2013-21, detail) at @rijksmuseum.bsky.social; Chathuri Nissansala studio visit at @rijksakademie.bsky.social (‘Saudade V’, 2024, detail).
September 15, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Sri Lankan research trip to Amsterdam: Vasantha Yogananthan’s ‘A Myth of Two Souls’ (2013-21, detail) at @rijksmuseum.bsky.social; Chathuri Nissansala studio visit at @rijksakademie.bsky.social (‘Saudade V’, 2024, detail).
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
Elisabetta Garletti examines "the power imbalance that endures in curatorial reframings where the hosting museum retains the authority over alleged decolonizing narratives, which ultimately reveal themselves to be mere attempts to safeguard institutional survival" www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Imperial Heritage on Trial: Keith Piper’s Viva Voce at Tate Britain
Published in Visual Culture in Britain (Ahead of Print, 2025)
www.tandfonline.com
September 15, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Elisabetta Garletti examines "the power imbalance that endures in curatorial reframings where the hosting museum retains the authority over alleged decolonizing narratives, which ultimately reveal themselves to be mere attempts to safeguard institutional survival" www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
Tomorrow Edinburgh Festival Fringe begins, a month long celebration of the arts.
Rachael Scally's article reveals the legacies of slavery in one of the festival's key venues, the Royal Infirmary (now the Edinburgh Futures Institute).
www.historyworkshop....
Rachael Scally's article reveals the legacies of slavery in one of the festival's key venues, the Royal Infirmary (now the Edinburgh Futures Institute).
www.historyworkshop....
Slavery, Decoloniality, and the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
Rachael Scally draws out the legacies of slavery of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, and what it means for the decolonisation of Scotland's healthcare institutions.
www.historyworkshop.org.uk
July 31, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Tomorrow Edinburgh Festival Fringe begins, a month long celebration of the arts.
Rachael Scally's article reveals the legacies of slavery in one of the festival's key venues, the Royal Infirmary (now the Edinburgh Futures Institute).
www.historyworkshop....
Rachael Scally's article reveals the legacies of slavery in one of the festival's key venues, the Royal Infirmary (now the Edinburgh Futures Institute).
www.historyworkshop....
I am beyond thrilled to announce I have been awarded a Mid-Career Fellowship from @paulmelloncentr.bsky.social and a Visiting Fellowship at @ucl-ias.bsky.social to write a book on ‘Queer Ecologies and Abundant Aesthetics in Sri Lankan Art, 1926-2024’. Pictured: Chathuri Nissansala, ‘Saudade’, 2024.
July 30, 2025 at 11:00 AM
I am beyond thrilled to announce I have been awarded a Mid-Career Fellowship from @paulmelloncentr.bsky.social and a Visiting Fellowship at @ucl-ias.bsky.social to write a book on ‘Queer Ecologies and Abundant Aesthetics in Sri Lankan Art, 1926-2024’. Pictured: Chathuri Nissansala, ‘Saudade’, 2024.
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
Esme Garlake reviews @youth-demand.bsky.social's recent protest at the National Gallery, to reflect on the visual politics of pro-Palestine activism: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Visual Politics of Pro-Palestine Protests: Youth Demand at the National Gallery
Published in Visual Culture in Britain (Ahead of Print, 2025)
www.tandfonline.com
May 1, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Esme Garlake reviews @youth-demand.bsky.social's recent protest at the National Gallery, to reflect on the visual politics of pro-Palestine activism: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
Caterina Franciosi reviews Iris Moon’s recent book 'Melancholy Wedgwood' (2024, @mitpress.bsky.social) as "a provocative and original contribution to the intertwined histories of capitalism and decorative arts" www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reimagining Wedgwood and the Politics of Pottery: Iris Moon’s Melancholy Wedgwood
Published in Visual Culture in Britain (Vol. 23, No. 1, 2025)
www.tandfonline.com
May 28, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Caterina Franciosi reviews Iris Moon’s recent book 'Melancholy Wedgwood' (2024, @mitpress.bsky.social) as "a provocative and original contribution to the intertwined histories of capitalism and decorative arts" www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
Nicholas Mirzoeff examines the politics of contemporary Palestinian visual culture and solidarity movements resisting settler colonialism, to critically interrogate British complicity in the region's past and present: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Notes on the Emergency
Published in Visual Culture in Britain (Vol. 22, No. 1-3, 2024)
www.tandfonline.com
March 18, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Nicholas Mirzoeff examines the politics of contemporary Palestinian visual culture and solidarity movements resisting settler colonialism, to critically interrogate British complicity in the region's past and present: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
I am very excited to announce a new fully funded PhD opportunity with Imperial War Museums:
"'Convinced ambassadors of Empire’?: exploring the visual record of Black Caribbean men and women serving in the UK during the Second World War"
Thank you for sharing! www.westminster.ac.uk/study/postgr...
"'Convinced ambassadors of Empire’?: exploring the visual record of Black Caribbean men and women serving in the UK during the Second World War"
Thank you for sharing! www.westminster.ac.uk/study/postgr...
March 18, 2025 at 11:34 AM
I am very excited to announce a new fully funded PhD opportunity with Imperial War Museums:
"'Convinced ambassadors of Empire’?: exploring the visual record of Black Caribbean men and women serving in the UK during the Second World War"
Thank you for sharing! www.westminster.ac.uk/study/postgr...
"'Convinced ambassadors of Empire’?: exploring the visual record of Black Caribbean men and women serving in the UK during the Second World War"
Thank you for sharing! www.westminster.ac.uk/study/postgr...
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
So pleased to announce that the relaunch issue of @vcib.bsky.social is OUT! Huge thanks to all the contributors for helping us create this. Our cover features @hardeepdhindsa.bsky.social's work and you can read more about it and so much more here: www.tandfonline.com/toc/rvcb20/2...
March 14, 2025 at 8:51 AM
So pleased to announce that the relaunch issue of @vcib.bsky.social is OUT! Huge thanks to all the contributors for helping us create this. Our cover features @hardeepdhindsa.bsky.social's work and you can read more about it and so much more here: www.tandfonline.com/toc/rvcb20/2...
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
Hardeep Singh Dhindsa considers how 18th-century classical studies constructed modern ideas of racial whiteness, using contemporary illustration to challenge the worldviews such sculptures came to represent (we are delighted to feature on our latest cover) www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Confronting the White Classical Body
Published in Visual Culture in Britain (Vol. 22, No. 1-3, 2024)
www.tandfonline.com
March 13, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Hardeep Singh Dhindsa considers how 18th-century classical studies constructed modern ideas of racial whiteness, using contemporary illustration to challenge the worldviews such sculptures came to represent (we are delighted to feature on our latest cover) www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
You are invited to the Photoecologies Study Group, a new space for exploring photography as an environmental, elemental and energetic assemblage. To find out more about and register to attend our upcoming events, see our eventbrite page: www.eventbrite.com/o/photoecolo... .
February 7, 2025 at 3:54 PM
You are invited to the Photoecologies Study Group, a new space for exploring photography as an environmental, elemental and energetic assemblage. To find out more about and register to attend our upcoming events, see our eventbrite page: www.eventbrite.com/o/photoecolo... .
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
My piece on women and partition in Ireland north and south is in today's @irishtimes.com for #IWD2025! It's an excerpt of my @arinsproject.bsky.social article 'Partition, Revolution & Alternative Futures in Irish Women's Fiction'! Link to my full essay is included. www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
Dr Dawn Miranda Sherratt-Bado: Partition was a male invention. How does an all-island view of women’s experiences shift dominant narratives?
Engaging with women’s experiences of partition helps to advance our perception of an enduring trauma and overcome a border in our minds
www.irishtimes.com
March 8, 2025 at 11:45 AM
My piece on women and partition in Ireland north and south is in today's @irishtimes.com for #IWD2025! It's an excerpt of my @arinsproject.bsky.social article 'Partition, Revolution & Alternative Futures in Irish Women's Fiction'! Link to my full essay is included. www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
A visit to Lunuganga, former country house and gardens of queer Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa (1919-2003), acquired by him in 1948. Once a cinnamon estate under Dutch colonialism (1640-1796) and a rubber plantation during British rule (1796-1948), Bawa reimagined the site as a queer space.
March 10, 2025 at 11:51 AM
A visit to Lunuganga, former country house and gardens of queer Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa (1919-2003), acquired by him in 1948. Once a cinnamon estate under Dutch colonialism (1640-1796) and a rubber plantation during British rule (1796-1948), Bawa reimagined the site as a queer space.
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
We are thrilled to announce the journal's relaunch editorial, reflecting on the publication's 25-year-history & our vision for its future: considering changes & continuities for both Britain & visual culture since 2000, fostering a space of ‘epistemic generosity’
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
24 Years of Visual Culture in Britain: The Relaunch Issue
Published in Visual Culture in Britain (Vol. 22, No. 1-3, 2021)
www.tandfonline.com
March 10, 2025 at 11:36 AM
We are thrilled to announce the journal's relaunch editorial, reflecting on the publication's 25-year-history & our vision for its future: considering changes & continuities for both Britain & visual culture since 2000, fostering a space of ‘epistemic generosity’
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
"I've been wondering why artists are required to dream up liberation in the gallery, but when that dream meets life we are shut down" ❤️
Last night Turner Prize 2024 winner Jasleen Kaur used her acceptance speech to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, to demand an end to institutional complicity in Israels genocide & to call for an immediate arms embargo.
December 4, 2024 at 7:37 AM
"I've been wondering why artists are required to dream up liberation in the gallery, but when that dream meets life we are shut down" ❤️
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
“I want the separation between the expression of politics in the gallery & the practice of politics in life to disappear. I want the institution to understand: if you want us inside you need to listen to us outside. Ceasefire now, arms embargo now free Palestine.”
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Jasleen Kaur wins the Turner prize 2024
The competition’s youngest contestant scoops the award for animating everyday objects to reflect the pluralities of identity and community
www.theguardian.com
December 4, 2024 at 8:37 AM
“I want the separation between the expression of politics in the gallery & the practice of politics in life to disappear. I want the institution to understand: if you want us inside you need to listen to us outside. Ceasefire now, arms embargo now free Palestine.”
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Reposted by Dr Edwin Coomasaru
Our final event of the semester is this Wednesday, 4-6pm and it promises to be fantastic. Mo Moulton will be in conversation with Matt Cook on the topic of 'New Directions in Queer and Trans History'. The event is hybrid, and you can sign up here: www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/hist...
New Directions in Queer and Trans History: Matt Cook and Mo Moulton in Conversation
Professor Matt Cook, who holds the Jonathan Cooper Chair in the History of Sexuality (University of Oxford), is in conversation with Professor Mo Moulton (University of Birmingham), followed by a gene...
www.birmingham.ac.uk
December 2, 2024 at 11:09 AM
Our final event of the semester is this Wednesday, 4-6pm and it promises to be fantastic. Mo Moulton will be in conversation with Matt Cook on the topic of 'New Directions in Queer and Trans History'. The event is hybrid, and you can sign up here: www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/hist...