Manuel Garcia-Ruiz is a PhD Scholar at CIES-Iscte and a Research Collaborator at IS-FLUP. His research in Sociology at ISCTE-IUL is supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science & Technology (FCT).

He has been visiting professor in different universities, and a scientific advisor for different departments, organizations and projects. His research has 3 main topics: (i) Nightlife, festivals, and tourism (ii) city branding, culture-led regeneration strategies, artwashing and commodification of the arts and, (iii) artistification, culture and artistic careers of emergent professionals. He is the author of several papers and chapters on the emergent field of Night Studies, and editor of different publications on urban studies, night studies and cultural sociology.

He is co-founder and coordinator of the International Night Studies Network, Coordinator of the Rede de Etnografia Urbana (Etno.Urb), and the Director of the Urban Audiovisual Festival. He is also a reputed festival advisor, specialized in art in dark and in the night, and a well-known talent curator in the field of new media and light art.