Laura Cuch

Research Title

Food, Faith, Home: A visual exploration of religious and domestic material culture.

More about Laura

She completed an MA in Photography and Urban Cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London in 2006 and currently teaches on the Goldsmiths based International Urban Photography Summer School (iUPSS), on the MA Photography and Urban Cultures and in the Media and Communications department. She has been a visiting researcher in the Centre for Urban and Community Research in the Sociology department as well as in the Anthropology department at Goldsmiths.

She has exhibited internationally at Paraty Em Foco (Brazil), Descubrimientos - PhotoEspaña 09, Centro Cultural Blanquerna, Arts Santa Mònica, H2O Gallery, Sala d’Art Jove, Talent Latent/Scan09, Espai Cavallers 31-33 and Emergent09, and has also taken part in group shows in London at the Rich Mix Centre, Photofusion, The Viewfinder Gallery and City University. Her work has been published in Le Monde, Barcelona Metròpolis, El Súmmum, Street Signs and London Independent Photography.

She is a member of the Association of Urban Photographers.

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Qualifications and training

• 2015 Currently studying a practice-based PhD in Geography at UCL with an AHRC Studentship.
• 2014 PG Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Goldsmiths, University of London
• 2006 MA in Photography and Urban Cultures, Goldsmiths,  University of London - AHRC studentship.
• 2002 BA in Communication Sciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Oct 1998 – Feb 2003)
• 2004 Photography (three year course), Institut d'Estudis Fotografics de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

Teaching

I have been involved with the following teaching: 

• Associate Lecturer in Photography, M.A. Photography & Urban Cultures, Goldsmiths, University of London
• Associate Lecturer in Photography, Media & Communications, Goldsmiths, University of London
• Associate Lecturer in Image Technical Studies, Design Department, Goldsmiths University of London (since
• Tutor in Photography, International Urban Photography Summer School, Goldsmiths, University of London,

Publications

• Cuch, L (2017) ‘Arda’s Choreg Recipe’ in Feast Journal
• Gilbert, D., Cuch, L., Dwyer, C. and Ahmed, N. (2016) The Sacred and the Suburban: Atmospherics, numinosity, and 1930s interiors in Ealing, London. Interiors: Design/Architecture/Culture Vol.6 No.3 pp211-234 DOI: 10.1080/20419112.2015.1125616
• Cuch, Laura (2011): ‘A Trilogy: Sleepless, No Ma, Trans’. Signed Limited Edition 100 Copies (+10 Author Proofs) ISBN O.C. (Trilogy): 978-84-615-6109-4; ISBN (Sleepless): 978-84-615-6220-6; (No Ma) 978-84-615-6221-3; (Trans) 978-84-615-6222-0
• Trilogy Sleepless, No Ma, Trans (2011)

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Presentations and Conferences

• Cuch, L. (2017) Spiritual Flavours: A film about biographical narratives on food and faith at the Sociology of Religion Study Group Annual Conference 2017, July 12th-14th, Leeds, UK.
• Cuch, L. (2017) Spiritual Flavours presentation at the conference Engaging in Urban Image Making, 28 April 2017 at Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.
• Cuch, L., (2016) Food, faith, home: Intersections between art, geographies of home and material culture, at the conference International Colloquium in Geohumanities “Closing Circles, Open Horizons, October 19th-22nd, Barcelona, Spain.
• Cuch, L., (2016) Spiritual Flavours: A multi-faith photo recipe book, at the conference 'Photography in Academic Research’, UCL, 8th-9th September 2016, London, UK
• Cuch, L., Dwyer, C.and Ahmed, N. (2016) Cleanliness is next to godliness: the care and maintenance of the suburban sacred, in Sacred Stuff: Material Culture and the Geography of Religion (2) Space, RGS-IBG Annual Conference, 30 Aug -
• 2nd Sept 2016, London, UK.
• Cuch, L. (2016), Food, faith, home: Intersections between art, geographies of domestic religion and material culture, in Household Gods: Religious Domesticity in Britain Conference, 1700 to the present day, Geffrye Museum, 15th July 2016, London, UK
• Cuch, L. (2016) Food, Faith, Home: Intersections between Art, Geographies of Home and Material Culture, in Practicing GeoHumanities: Research at the Intersection of Geography and Creative Practice Conference, 16th June 2016, Royal Geographical Society, London, UK
• Cuch, L. (2016) Food, Faith, Home: A visual exploration of religious and domestic material culture in Creative Approaches to Researching Religion in the City 2: Exploring Faith through Participatory Public-Engagement Art Conference Session, AAG Annual Conference, 29th March 2016, San Francisco, USA.
• Cuch, L. (2016) Food, Faith, Home: A visual exploration of religious and domestic material culture, RHUL Landscape Surgery seminar series, 12 January 2016, London, UK
• Cuch, L. (2015) Making Suburban Faith: A visual exploration of the religious and domestic material culture at the Centre For the Study of Home: Postgraduate Sudy Day,  Geffrye Museum, 21st October 2015, London, UK.
• Cuch, L. (2015). Photography, performativity and affect: a visual approach to the study of faith in London suburban homes at the conference -'5the International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Emotional Geographies 2015', 10-12 June 2015. Edinburgh, UK.
• Cuch, L. (2015). The Best Place in the World: A biography of home at the conference 'Home and art: creating, performing and researching home', Geffrye Museum, 1st May 2015. London, UK.
• Cuch, L. (2013) Visualising Affect and Emotion in Portrait Photography at the 2013 International Visual Sociology Association Conference at Goldsmiths, 8-10 July 2013. London, UK.
• Cuch, L. (2012) Sleepless, No Ma, Trans at ‘Photography: Memory, Archives and Authorship’ Conference at Fotosynthesis, 12th October 2012. London, UK
• Cuch, L. (2012) Talk: No Ma, the option of not being a mother at CIRD Conference, 25th May 2012. Barcelona, Spain.
• Organiser of Negotiating Subjectivities; A One-Day Symposium on Photography, Health and The Body at Goldsmiths, University of London, 5th November 2011. London, UK

Research Interests

Laura Cuch is a photographer who has been awarded an AHRC studentship to do a practice-based PHD in Geography at UCL, as part of the project 'Making Suburban Faith'. Here, she explores spiritual material cultures of faith in suburbia, with a particular focus on food, through a range of documentary and participatory approaches, including photography, film and visual methods.

Laura was recently awarded a Cross-Disciplinary Training Scholarship to spend an academic year (2016/17) in the Anthropology department at UCL undertaking courses from the MA in Documentary and Ethnographic Film, as well as other modules on material and visual cultures.

Prior to this doctoral research, she has been involved in socially engaged art projects, as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Urban and Community Research at Goldsmiths.

Her previous photographic trilogy of portrait projects 'Sleepless' (about people who suffer sleep deprivation); 'No Ma' (about women who know for various reasons that they will never be mothers) and; 'Trans' (about people who had an organ transplant) led her to organise the conference 'Negotiating Subjectivities: A One-Day Symposium Exploring Photography, Health & The Body'. This conference was part of her Visiting Research Fellowship in the Anthropology Department at Goldsmiths with the support of Dr Christopher Wright.