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Donna Bevan
FRSA

Course Leader

Department of Art and Music

Donna Bevan

Biography

Donna Louise Bevan is course leader for BA (Hons) Make-Up and Hair Design and BA (Hons) Prosthetics and Special Effects Design. She contributes to a range of courses delivering creative styling, design history and cultural theory at BA and MA level. She is a senior academic, researcher and curator, and contributes to a range of courses delivering creative styling, design  history and cultural theory at undergraduate and postgraduate level.  

Donna has experience in both theory and practice and offers her extensive knowledge through a interdisciplinary approach in both her own research practice and in her teaching.

She presents her work at a national and international level. She has also been on the steering group and organiser of the Global Beauty conferences held annually in Oxford for Interdisciplinary.net.

Donna is currently working on a book and exhibition follow up (touring) for the co-curated exhibition, Beehives, Bobs and Blowdries (BBB) 2018, for which she was lead on content research and design advisor. BBB was shortlisted for a national award and received international reviews and praise.

Donna has experience of course/curriculum development and validation at a national level for both undergraduate and postgraduate and has worked as validation advisor for Bournemouth University.

She has external examiner experience internationally, including Epsom and Pearl Academy India, and has lectured at many academic institutions including London College of Fashion, Southampton University and Portsmouth University.

She regularly works for the BBC for radio and has been advisor for TV – including Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio Sheffield.

Further information

Donna studied jewellery design at undergraduate level, and design history and material culture, and digital media at postgraduate level. Her approach has always been interdisciplinary, bringing together theory and practice in her own work and through her teaching experience on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Her research surrounds the relationship between place/design/object fashion and the body. The sensory experiences of design and our relationship to the object. She is currently working on two projects related to this area.

Donna most recently collaborative project was the exhibition ‘Beehives Bobs and Blow-dries', which explored the world of hairdressing in the post war period. She was author of the exhibition story and co-curated the exhibition design and content. Using a range of archives and interviews with hairdressers she was able to examine the changes in technology, craft techniques and the impact of subcultures on the mainstream hair salon. She is currently working on a book to accompany the exhibition as it tours.

Donna is a fashion advisor to the BBC and film industry, including regular slots on BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio Sheffield and has worked for many industry clients She also speaks at many academic conferences both nationally and internationally.

Taught courses

BA (Hons) Make-Up and Hair Design

Superb connections, amazing facilities, and the opportunity to work alongside students of Photography, TV, Film, and SFX make Solent’s course a first choice: the gateway to careers across the world.

BA (Hons) Prosthetics and Special Effects Design

Unleash your imagination to create characters for stage and screen and develop your portfolio of work using the latest design techniques. And learn from experienced industry experts.

BA (Hons) Interior Design

Blend your artistic flair with technology and design, to create innovative and attractive indoor spaces for both domestic and commercial use on this SBID accredited degree.

BA (Hons) Interior Design Decoration

With award-winning graduates and a teaching team of industry professionals, our SBID-accredited degree will provide you with the design skills to turn your vision into reality.

MA Make-up and Hair Design Futures

Explore the rapidly evolving field of designing for future bodies, beauty cultures and creature design using speculative design strategies and augmented realities on this...