Kim Starr

Fulbright-Smithsonian Institutions Scholar - Smithsonian

Kim’s academic career got off to a rocky start when (aged 4) her teacher described her as a ‘chatterbox’. Deciding to make a virtue out of a necessity, Kim pinned her career colours to the communications mast, winding up in the broadcast television industry. However, academia beckoned several times over the years: for a Bachelor’s degree in politics and law (QMUL), MAs in journalism (Westminster) and audiovisual translation (Surrey) and finally, for the pursuit of a PhD in audiovisual translation/accessible language (Surrey). The latter stages of this academic journey were initiated after a family member was diagnosed with autism, and Kim found herself exploring ways to help children with additional cognitive needs access film and television content. Ultimately, this became the focus of her nationally-funded PhD research, where she trialed audio description to prompt emotion cues in film content for autistic children. 

Kim is excited to be partnering with the Smithsonian Institution to explore the language of museum interpretation, focussing on people with additional cognitive needs. As an avid musical theatre fan, she hopes to pay an early visit to the Ozian ruby slippers at the National Museum of American History, and visit accessible theatre projects in DC.