Dr Dena Bagi BA (Hons), MA, AFHEA, PhD

Lecturer in Curating

Dena Bagi curates pedagogies that harness the ontological assets of clay. Influenced heavily by clay’s earthly cycle, Dena collaboratively produces workshops, projects and symbiotic learning environments with the communities they serve. Before working in an academic context, Dena led health-based pedagogical programming in the gallery sector. Her last role in industry was at the British Ceramics Biennial (Stoke), where she led their health engagement programme.

Dena’s AHRC-funded PhD, completed in January 2025, aimed to ascertain the intersection between clay-working, mental health recovery and the pedagogic potential of the gallery setting. Dena formed a new methodology during her studies, which is now being used in gallery settings - to reflexively inform and measure pedagogical programming alongside participants.

Dena has taught at undergraduate and postgraduate-level at Manchester School of Art for seven years, in and around the area of curation, social curation and gallery-based engagement in the arts.