Six more things about me…
If you weren’t a curator/art historian, what would you have been?
An old-school radio DJ. Growing up, I wanted to be Annie Nightingale and have her Sunday evening slot on Radio 1… I taped a lot of it in the 80s!
What is the best type of interaction you get when teaching?
Always without fail, when I’ve learnt something new from someone on my course. Politics, art, music, science, fashion, the list goes on… I love that people bring an aspect of their lived experience to a period or a subject that we’re exploring, it enriches the whole experience for everyone.
What would be your perfect last meal?
Peking Duck, chocolate Domino cake from Louis’ patisserie in London (sadly no longer sold) and a pint of Adnams Old Ale. A strange mix but ticks every box…
When has your involvement with an artwork transcended the boundaries of the ‘art world’ and had a broader impact in society?
Mmm, not sure I’m the best judge of that! Probably the school workshops I led for the Government Art Collection during Waltham Forest’s London Borough of Culture in 2019 - this included overseeing a permanent mural painting by students at their sixth form college in Leyton.
Describe your perfect day?
Swimming, reading, eating fish by the sea - Norfolk coast or a Greek island.
On ‘Desert Island Artworks’ which 8 would you choose to capture highlights of your life?
Qi Baishi, Chicks (I grew up with some of his paintings, and loved them)
Andrea del Sarto, Portrait of a Young Man (early teen crush at the NG)
Vittore Carpaccio, St Jerome and the Lion (look at the fleeing monks!)
Wassily Kandinsky, White Cross (a revelatory moment when my art teacher unlocked abstract art at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum)
Francis Bacon, Three Studies for a Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne (astounding)
Rebecca Horn, Concert for Anarchy (not displayed enough IMO)
Vanessa Bell, Byzantine Lady (a jewel of a painting)
Mrinalini Mukherjee, Devi (magical and monumental in one breath)
My art training
BA History of Art and Architecture (20th century and World Art Studies) at UEA in Norwich; MA History of Art and Archaeology (Chinese, Japanese and Tibetan art) at SOAS, University of London.
(Some of the) museum collections and organisations I’ve worked at
Government Art Collection (as modern and contemporary curator and its first curator of public engagement). Tate (back in the 90s when there was only one Tate in London). The University of London Library (curating its centenary exhibition). Sotheby’s (in the early days of the internet).
Advisory role
As an Advisory Board Member of The Peter Sowerby Art Collection at Bethlem Gallery, I support and advise on the development of the Gallery’s inaugural contemporary art collection and in 2025, its first exhibition.
