When I was a teenager, my mum bought me a William Morris book to encourage my burgeoning interest in art. A print of Morris’s "Strawberry Thief" (1883) took up residence on my bedroom wall alongside the Radiohead and Pulp posters. It strikes me now, as a curator and writer, that my values were nurtured by this formative gift. Morris synthesised art, design, political theory and poetry and believed culture had an important role to play in society; his ability to build bridges between modes of making and thinking serves as a continued inspiration to me.  

I am passionate about bringing culture closer to people. As a curator I support artists in making ambitious new work, connecting artists and communities and artistic thinking to social and historical contexts. Through my writing I am interested in linking art to broader fields of knowledge, including economics, psychology and politics. Writing is where I think and curating is where I do – enacting the values that I explore through my writing. 

I originally studied Fine Art at Falmouth College of Art and Newcastle University before undertaking an MA in Curating at Goldsmiths. My background as an artist informs the way I work as a curator, in which I am committed to supporting artists holistically and long term. I also see curating as a deeply creative practice and view my work as a form of interdisciplinary storytelling – synthesising diverse forms of knowledge and experiences to create accessible and inclusive narratives. 

I believe that a curator’s responsibility reaches far beyond exhibition-making. Having grown up in a working-class background, I want to share my experiences and skills through mentorship and coaching. I teach across the UK on BA and MFA programmes and regularly work with organisations committed to early career artists, curators and writers. 

Recent curated projects include: "Forecast" with Invisible Dust at City Hall, London (2023), "Commoning the Collection" at Leeds Art Gallery (2021-22), "In the Air" co-curated with Emily Sargent (2022), "Joy & Tranquillity" co-curated with Laurie Britton Newell (2021), "Misbehaving Bodies: Oreet Ashery and Jo Spence" co-curated with Bárbara Rodríguez Muñoz (2019) at Wellcome Collection, and "The Everyday Political" at Southwark Park Galleries (2018). I was co-curator on Turner Prize at Ferens Art Gallery, Hull (2017) and have previously worked for Newcastle University, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art in curatorial roles. My writing on curating and contemporary art is regularly published in magazines, books and journals. I am currently Senior Lecturer in Curating at Teesside University and Trustee at New Contemporaries, Artist Advisor for Jerwood Arts and a member of AICA-UK - International Association of Art Critics.