The Gateways Partnership began life as Gateways to the First World War, a centre for public engagement with the centenary of the First World War, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and based at the University of Kent. The Gateways Partnership was launched in 2021 to continue and develop the work of Gateways to the First World War, with a particular focus on the intersection of creative arts and histories and heritage.
The Gateways Partnership is led by creative directors Helen Brooks, Professor of Cultural History and Creative Practice at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London and Jayne Thompson, Senior Lecturer in Drama at the School of Arts and Architecture, University of Kent. We are also indebted to Professor Mark Connelly, Professor Emeritus at the School of Classics, English and History, University of Kent. Mark was the project lead of the Gateways to the First World War centre and, until 2024, a creative director of the Gateways Partnership.