Katey Warran

Tuesday, 29 April 2025 - Workshop Arts Festivals Summit 2025

Dr Katey Warran is Head of the PATHS (Public Health, Arts, Theory, Sociology) Research Group, based in the School of Health in Social Science at the University of Edinburgh, and the recipient of a Leverhulme-funded fellowship exploring how to co-construct a Sociology of Arts and Health. She is also Honorary Fellow in the Social Biobehavioural Research Group at University College London, where she was previously Deputy Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Arts and Health, and an Affiliate of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab. Katey’s research explores the complex relationship between the arts and health, and she has a particular interest in participatory arts and events. Of note, her PhD was a partnership with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, where she explored the role of arts festivals in fostering social cohesion. She is currently co-authoring a book with Professor Norma Daykin on the Sociology of Arts and Health (Routledge, forthcoming).

Katey has designed and collaborated on a diverse range of innovative arts and health projects, including receiving funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Arts and Humanities Research Council, Royal Society of Edinburgh, Medical Research Council, and the British Academy. She worked as lead researcher for the World Health Organization (exploring singing for postnatal depression) and led on an international partnership with the University of Toronto to build networks in arts and health.

Katey is an advisor on a range of committees (e.g., Arts Culture Health and Wellbeing Scotland (ACHWS), Scottish Ballet, Tonic Arts at NHS Lothian Charity), has worked on a range of policy activities and outputs (e.g., for the DCMS, Arts Council England, Scottish Government), and is Co-Director of the Arts Play Health Community.