David Holland
Research and Entrepreneurship Specialist, School of the Arts
Virginia Commonwealth University
dcholland@vcu.edu
David Holland, Research and Entrepreneurship Specialist in the School of the Arts, supports the Research and Entrepreneurship team by working with faculty and administrators to facilitate the planning and development of faculty research projects, to manage the School’s support of faculty and student research, to identify sources of external funding to expand research within VCUarts, and to encourage the development of commercial projects and an entrepreneurial culture across the School.
David was previously Development Director at ART 180, a non-profit youth arts organization based in Richmond, Virginia (his home town), where he led fund development efforts and successfully completed a capital campaign. Prior to this, David lived and worked in London, England for eight years, establishing expertise in arts research and creative entrepreneurship. He began his career at the London consulting firm, BOP Consulting, where he became a Senior Consultant leading strategy and research projects for national and international clients including Arts Council England, the British Council, Creativity, Culture and Education, the UK Department for Culture, Media, and Sport, the European Cultural Foundation, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, and University College Falmouth.
David went on to serve as a Learning Manager for the UK innovation funder NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology, and the Arts), where he worked across Programs and Policy and Research teams on program and research design and program evaluation. He later joined Arts & Business, one of the Prince’s Charities (charities sponsored by HRH Prince of Wales), as a Commercial Consultant, where he worked to establish a commercial consulting practice serving FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies, including Bank of New York Mellon and American Express. His last UK assignment was as a Strategy and Development Consultant for B3 Media, a media arts organization, where he worked with artists on developing and securing funding for innovative creative projects that test new uses for technology and new modes of audience engagement.
David has also conducted significant research and program evaluation related to arts education. His work in this area was published in the inaugural Routledge International Handbook of Creative Learning in 2011. His research on other topics related to cultural policy and arts development has been published by Arts Council England and the British Council.
David is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, and his education includes MA degrees from University of London, SOAS and a BA degree from Amherst College.
