Dr Kathy Xu is Course Leader for the BA (Hons) Creative Industries Management at Leeds Arts University. Her work focuses on creative business and cultural management, with particular interests in audience engagement, cultural marketing, and creative entrepreneurship across the arts and cultural sectors. Trained as a professional dancer in China before moving to the UK, she brings a strong understanding of creative practice to her work in the cultural and creative industries.

Before joining Leeds Arts University, she was Programme Lead for the MSc Creative and Cultural Industries Management at the University of Sheffield. In this role she led curriculum development and taught across undergraduate and postgraduate modules covering areas such as cultural marketing, festivals and events management, the management of museums and cultural heritage sites, and contemporary marketing practices.

Kathy holds a PhD in Management from the University of Sheffield, where she explored how arts participation and cultural consumption shape identity and belonging within diaspora communities in the UK. Her work also examines the relationship between cultural organisations, audiences, and society, drawing on qualitative methods to understand how people experience and engage with the arts. She also holds an MA in Arts Management, Policy and Practice and a BA (Hons) in Management, Leadership and Leisure from the University of Manchester.

Alongside her academic work, she has collaborated with local creative and cultural organisations such as Manchester International Festival, Migration Matters Festival, Sheffield Theatres, and Eelyn Lee Productions, integrating industry partnerships and live projects into her teaching.

Through her teaching and course leadership, she encourages students to develop the strategic thinking, collaborative mindset, and entrepreneurial skills needed to build meaningful careers in today’s global creative industries.