Professor of Punk honoured
Tony Henderson reports on a Northumbria University academic whose work has been recognised with a Fellowship
A professor whose latest book chronicles a northern city’s punk scene has been awarded an academic honour.
Northumbria University Professor of Fine Art, Gavin Butt has been announced by the Association for Art History as one of their 2025 Fellows - awarded on the basis of his innovative research and its engagement with audiences beyond the academic art and art history worlds.
Prof Butt is a writer and researcher who explores the significance and impact of visual art in the contexts of popular music, queer culture and performance.
His latest book No Machos or Pop Stars: When the Leeds Art Experiment Went Punk charts the role of art schools within the vibrant post-punk music scene in Leeds in the late 1970s.
After punk’s arrival in 1976, many art students in Leeds traded their paintbrushes for guitars and synthesizers.
In bands ranging from Gang of Four, Soft Cell, and Delta 5 to the Mekons, Scritti Politti, and Fad Gadget, these artists-turned-musicians challenged the limits of what was deemed possible in rock and pop music.
In No Machos or Pop Stars, Gavin tells the story of the post-punk scene in Leeds, showing how England’s state-funded education policy brought together art students from different social classes to create the ground for musical experimentation.
He is also the author of Between You and Me: Queer Disclosures in the New York Art World, and co-editor of Post-Punk Then and Now.
Prof Butt said: “I am honoured to have my work recognised by the Association for Art History. The award is particularly meaningful to me because it recognises the contribution of my work and its address to readers and audiences across books, project and exhibition curation, LP production and filmmaking."