Lewis is passionate about engagement approaches that put people first, challenge institutional hierarchies and disciplinary silos, and supports social justice.

He is founder and director of the Science Ceilidh, an intermediate organisation making connections between communities, education, research and culture across Scotland. He is currently focusing on scaling the impact and sustainability of the work, and is currently undertaking the UK Creative Community Fellowship with NAS and Derby Museums.

Current programmes include:

• Hosting the Culture & Wellbeing Community Network Scotland community of practice and being one of the Scottish members to the Fun Palaces five-year action research programme for cultural democracy. In this role, he is currently working with the Scottish Libraries and Information Council to connect grassroots communities, artists, organisations along with libraries across Scotland and share practice and make links across community-driven culture and wellbeing.

• Exploring what participatory grant making and peer network building could look like in the Highlands and Islands when communities are given funding and support directly to collaborate with researchers on matters important to them locally around climate change and mental wellbeing. This includes supporting a network of over 30 community-based research projects with The Ideas Fund, British Science Association, Wellcome and UK Research and Innovation

• Co-Investigator of the Singing Side By Side programme with University of Derby leading a community action research programme and toolkit development to promote mental health inclusive choirs.

• Supporting youth workers to explore creativity, STEM and outdoor learning as tools to engage and empower young people from underrepresented backgrounds with New Scots Connect with Multicultural Family Base (Royal Academy of Engineering) and a three-year Children In Need and Wellcome funded Curiosity Programme with People Know How.

• Working with Western Isles Libraries and UHI Division of Rural Health and Wellbeing on the Le Cheile/Together Project to support hyperlocal engagement through the mobile libraries around culture, social isolation and the lockdown.

• Developing interdisciplinary school programmes, training programmes and free resources exploring across expressive arts and wellbeing (including with Youth Music Initiative), STEM (including with Maths Week Scotland) and equity (with Highland One World)

• Being an organising member of the Anti-Racist Educator Collective and providing support, training and developing new decolonised narratives and curriculums.

Science Ceilidh has also developed other workshops and projects supporting unpaid carers and groups with additional support needs, along with leading a long-term shopping centre residency Leith Labs. Lewis brings this broad experience across public and community engagement and education to his consulting and training work, informing on national programmes and funding and as of 2021, is one of the associate trainers with the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement.

Lewis originally trained in neuroscience - his interest of which still informs his passion around the growing evidence of the benefits of creativity to health and wellbeing, learning and pedagogy (whilst acknowledging the danger of being reductive or instrumentalising culture). Lewis’ research background was in brain imaging looking at anatomical brain asymmetries and how this may change in certain psychiatric or neurological disorders, through brain evolution and with musical training at the University of Edinburgh. He was a Science Fellow at the Exploring the Mind Through Music Conference in Rice University 2016 & was awarded both the British Neuroscience Association & International Medical Science Undergraduate Award for his undergraduate dissertation..

Lewis started in science communication and informal science learning since 2009 alongside his degree and began to be involved with science festivals across the world from Thailand to across the Middle East. Some highlights include being part of the Alan Turing Institute’s STEM Gamechangers programme in 2019, part of the Edinburgh March for Science organising team in 2017 with over 2000 people rallying outside Scottish Parliament, competing in the first Science Show International Cup in Estonia, meeting Michelle Obama at the World Innovation Summit Education 2015 in Qatar and being a finalist in the 2019 Falling Walls Science Engagement of the Year.

During the evenings, he can be found playing the fiddle, board games, learning gaelic and trying new dance styles. Having used to compete in Scottish Country Dancing, he is now keen on trying new dances from around the world!

Memberships & Advisory Groups

The Anti-Racist Educator Collective Organising Member

Creative Scotland’s EDI Advisory Group

Empire, Slavery and Scotland’s Museums Independent Advisory Group

National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement Associate Trainer

STFC Wonder Advisory Group

Macrobert Arts Trustee

Midlothian Science Festival Committee

STEM Week Scottish Government Working Group

ASE Scotland Workshop Group (2017 - 2018)