Yewande Adeniran
Department, Institution: Anthropology, UCL
UBEL Pathway: Anthropology
Supervisor: Dr Hélène Neveu Kringelbach & Dr Toyin Agbetu
Contact details: yewande.adeniran.23@ucl.ac.uk
About Me
I am a PhD student in Anthropology at UCL, where my research explores labour practices and hierarchies within London’s nightlife economy, with a focus on clubbing and dance music cultures. My academic background spans an MA in Modern and Contemporary Literature at the University of Manchester and an MA in Ethnographic and Documentary Film at UCL. Alongside this, I have worked across the music industry in a range of roles – from journalist and DJ to barback and promoter. Drawing on these lived experiences, I use autoethnography and anthropology to examine the working conditions of those who keep London’s nightclubs alive.
My Research
As much as nightlife and club culture can be spaces of joy, creativity, and connection, the labour practices behind the scenes often tell a different story. The industry is built on precarious contracts, long nights, and emotional labour, with workers such as cleaners, barbacks, security staff, DJs, and promoters navigating unstable conditions. With nearly 400 clubs closing in the UK over the past five years, those in insecure, low-paid roles have been the hardest hit. My research examines how London nightclub workers experience time, labour, and alienation through material culture, cultural analysis, and ethnography – while also exploring the ways they resist and reimagine these exploitative structures.
Impact of My Research
The impact of my research lies in giving visibility to the hidden labour that sustains London’s nightlife economy, especially the experiences of marginalised and racialised workers in insecure roles. By showing how they navigate and resist exploitative conditions, my work contributes to fairer understandings of labour in precarious sectors. Beyond academia, the findings can inform campaigns for workers’ rights, support cultural preservation against gentrification, and help policymakers and urban planners create more sustainable nightlife economies that value both culture and the people who make it possible.