Applications for 2026 entry to the MA and PhD programmes at the Sainsbury Research Unit are now open. To find out more, please visit MA or PhD, or contact sru.enquiries@uea.ac.uk 

The bursary provides hands-on experience in library and archive work, including tasks such as shelving, archiving, database entry, and assisting at the enquiry desk.

As CfAAA Secretary, Sarah will assist in organising seminar series and in promoting the Centre’s activities, and those of its members, through social media. 

The Sainsbury Research Unit is delighted to welcome this year’s MA students: Mayra, Abdullahi, Adlai, Anya, Nafisat, Chloe, Sarah, Travis, and Kakule.

On Tuesday, 23 September, the Sainsbury Research Unit officially launched a festschrift in honour of Emeritus Professor John Mack recognising his long-standing contributions to the study of the arts of Africa.

George Lau, Professor of Art and Archaeology of the Americas at the Sainsbury Research Unit (SRU), University of East Anglia, has been elected Fellow of the British Academy – one of the highest honours in the humanities and social sciences. 

The Sainsbury Research Unit is pleased to announce the appointment of two new members of faculty who will be joining us in early September: Dr Laura De Becker as Lecturer in the Arts of Africa and Dr Jacopo Baron as Lecturer in the Arts of Oceania.

This years Masters Students exhibition, explores the rich visual culture and ceremonial life of the Nasca people through their intricately decorated ceramics.

On 18 June 2025, the Sainsbury Research Unit hosted the Pacific Arts Association Europe Conference, for three days of collaborative engagement and knowledge sharing via insightful panel discussions and inspiring research presentations.

We are delighted to announce that two former MA students at the Sainsbury Research Unit, Cristina Fernandes and Liam Deary, have been awarded CHASE Studentships.

In the Apa Kingdom of Nigeria, Professor Anne Haour, has been honoured with the distinguished title of Chief Onigegeara, meaning 'A Wonderful Writer,' for her exceptional contributions to African archaeology and history.

This conference will explore the Pacific Ocean as a relational entity, as a powerful metaphor for connection, as a pathway that is reclaimed by Oceanic people today by celebrating the impressive navigational skills of their ancestors when settling the islands, as well as a pathway used by collectors who shipped artefacts to museums.

On Thursday 13 March 2025, Ronnie Archer-Morgan, collector, antique dealer, renowned expert on ethnic, tribal and folk art, and BBC Antiques Roadshow specialist, delivered a seminar that was nothing short of mesmerizing.

This conference aims to bring together current research on visual, material and archival collections and explore the ways in which their materiality is shaped by time and place.