Education
Sunderland University, Sunderland - MA Curating
September 2014 - October 2015
Visiting regional galleries to see how curatorial teams, educational teams and building services run. Researching for essays such as, Why do Galleries and Museums not display more art by women? Connecting with new audiences-How do Southern and Northern art galleries deal with the issues in engaging with a new audience? The final project was to create an exhibition or project. Wonderland Sunderland was an idea for an exhibition about women in comics. Based in Sunderland to engage with new audiences.
Northumbria University, Newcastle — BA (Hons) Degree, History of Modern Art, Film and Design.
September 2008 - July 2011
From the Pre Raphaelites to Cult Films, this degree had a plethora of different topics. Dissertation topic, Surrealist Women.
Experience
Pink-collar Gallery
Director
September 2020 - Present
Platform A Gallery
Curator and Marketing Manager
January 2019- December 2023
Freelance Creative Roles
Curator
April 2016- September 2020
Durham University: Western Art Collection
Cataloguing the Collection
April 2018 - July 2018
Ampersand Inventions
Communication and Research Officer
January 2018 - June 2018
Thought Foundation
Assistant Curator
September 2016 - 2020
Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Middlesbrough
Intern
July 2015 - December 2015
Vane, Newcastle
Volunteer
March 2012 - February 2014
CURATORIAL PROJECTS
Belonging - Celebrating creative identities within the Sunderland community
Pink Collar Gallery
Seventeen Nineteen Sunderland
15th feb-15th March.
The Boundary Resident Community Centre Shiney Row
Sat 6th & Sun 7th April. 10-4 pm.
Arts Centre Washington.
25th April-4th May.
Bridie Jackson, Catherine Forsyth, Ellie Clewlow, Bethany Stead and Mark Parham.
An industrial past overpowers Sunderland's culture. Cultural spaces proudly show our past achievements, but communities in these declined areas of the industry still live on and have been forgotten. To celebrate the importance of belonging five creatives have held creative workshops in different communities around Sunderland, asking people who live in Sunderland what Belonging means to them. The works commemorate the history of Sunderland, referencing glass making, shipbuilding and coal mining but with a contemporary twist of modern stories. The output from these workshops has inspired new works shown in this exhibition. These new commissions celebrate the continuing story of Sunderland and the importance of showing working-class stories and celebrating the communities that belong to lost industrial villages in Sunderland through art.
Re-Imagine Project
Pink Collar Gallery / Las Illuminates.
Collaboration with York Univerity, Durham University, Tees Vallery Arts, Durham Castle.
Throughout 2021
Lorena Malo, Janin Garcin, Mineyfru, Yellow Girls, Vika Alvarez, Rosie Stronach, Gina Maria Marchella McCarthy, Jessica Warren, Georgina Lance, Bettie Hope.
Working with Mexican activist art group Las Illuminates in creating activist artwork about the rise of femicide in the UK and Mexico. Over 100 artists displayed their artwork in an online gallery in English and Spanish. Out of the 100 artists, 5 UK and 5 Mexican artists were selected in created public artworks around the UK and Mexico. This exhibition was supported by Arts Council England and a Go Fund Me campaign.
What Does It Mean to Be Working Class?
Pink Collar Gallery.
16th March - 15th May 2021
Kev Howard, Shonagh Short, Erin Dickson, Mark Parham and John James Perangie.
I commissioned working-class artists from the North East and North West to discover their working-class identity and what it means to them to be working class. This exhibition was supported by Arts Council England.
Belonging - The Dorman Museum
8th Feb - 19th April 2020
‘Belonging’ marks a ‘passing of the baton’ for David, reuniting him once again with emerging curator Michaela Wetherell (David Watson - Beyond The Wilderness Road exhibition 2014), and connecting him with a new generation of artists/writers, who have used the exhibition as a gateway, to collaborate with community groups and inspire new writing that explores belonging within the town today. The exhibition will feature paintings by David Watson alongside writing from Lisette Auton, Natalie Scott, Shakk and Bobby Benjamin. This exhibition is supported by Arts Council England.
CRAFT - Thought Foundation
5th Feb - 26th April 2020
The word "craft" has historically been more closely related to domestic chores than fine art practice. Regarded as women's work embroidery, sewing or knitting were practical skills for the home and family; excluded from the sphere of art history. This exhibition explores the past and present of craft-based contemporary art; considering how we can rewrite women's stories in art history by re-evaluating the significance of craft-based artworks and celebrating the contemporary engagement with craft techniques. The programme will also include opportunities for audiences to learn traditional and contemporary applications of craft. This exhibition is supported by Arts Council England.
Nasty Women North East at The Anti Art Fair with Creative Debuts and Elijah Wheat Showroom.
4th - 7th October 2018
Debuting top 3 artists for the International Nasty Women Art Prize and announcing the winner.
Nasty Women Art Prize Showcase Exhibition - PRAXIS Gallery
21st June 2018
Showing the 25 top applications from the Nasty Women Art Prize.
I am a Nasty Women Because... - Allington House Community Centre
13th June - 15th June 2018
I am a Nasty Woman Because… is a celebration of all things Nasty and is the fifth exhibition presented by Nasty Women North East artist collective. This exhibition, part of Art Durham, highlights projects from Nasty Women artists Lady Kitt, Paige Megan Hawley, Rebecca Simpson and Edyta Czarnecka, who have created work inspired by their time in the movement. Apart of an ongoing project within the NWNE movement, Women are in art History too, we highlighted some of the women of the Durham Art Collection, Marina Abramovic, Niki de Saint Phalle and Paula Rego.
Nasty Women at The Late Shows - Ampersand Inventions
19th May 2018.
Highlighting whom Nasty Women are by exhibiting the art that has been donated to us. We also launched a Nasty Women Art Game, all questions relating to women in art history.
International Women's Day - The Office Group - The Black & White
8th March - 11th March 2018.
For International Women's Day 2018, NWNE were invited down to London to collaborate with Nasty Women London and Creative Debuts, empowerment exhibition. We create a space to celebrate some of the amazing artists who have supported us. We showed local, up and coming, first time and student artists.
Are you Still Nasty? - Thought Foundation
17th November 2017
We asked the questions to all artists and non-artists, are they still Nasty? Meaning is there still a platform for the nasty women movement and whats the best way to explore this in art. We received a number of pieces from America to Russia. Artists involved The Guerrilla Girls (GLOBAL!), Klaus Pinter (AU), Margaret Harrison (UK), Daria Galeeva (Russia), Trudy Giordano (USA), Joyce Overheul (Germany) and Lady Kitt (UK)
Trumped - Thought Foundation
17th November 2017
TRUMPED explores some of the major issues Trumps administration have proposed and stated throughout his 11 months in office. This includes, Trans service men and women not being allowed to be apart of the military, plans to defund Planned Parenthood, the travel ban, Trump not condemning white supremacy and proposed cutting programs that help victims of domestic violence. These selected previous nasty women artists are evolving their work in the movement throughout this traumatic year of polluted policies from President Trump.
Roots and Wings- The House of Blah Blah
21st July - 25th August 2017
Roots and Wings is an exhibition held at The House of Blah Blah, Middlesbrough exploring the themes of girls growing up around the world. Inspired by a study which stated that Middlesbrough was the worst place for girls to grow up in the UK. How do other girls get brought up around the world, and what culturally and ethnically differences do we teach girls for us to grow up so differently or similarly?
Nasty Women North East- Byker Community Centre
7th April - 22nd April 2017
Nasty Women Newcastle is the sister show to Nasty women New York exhibition. We received donations from artists and non-artists from around the world. Selling all the artwork to raise money for two charities, The Fed and Byker Community Centres women's group.
Tell Her Story - Crown Street Art Gallery, Darlington
22nd November 2016 - 12th January 2017
This exhibition looks creatively at the images of unknown women in the Darlington Borough Art Collection and considers what they are saying to us now?
This exhibition includes paintings and a drawing from Darlington’s art collection, where information on the women involved was either absent, has been lost through time, or where images were drawn from the imagination in the first place. Tell her Story invited artists working today to consider such works and to generate new work in response, with both incorporated in this exhibition.
Finding Feminism presents The Dirty Word - Praxis Gallery, Commercial Union House, Newcastle.
6th September - 30th September 2016
This exhibition explores the power of language and feminism. Using work by local artists and displays of protest signs and mean tweets about feminism. This exhibition explores the effect words have on feminism.
Drawing? - Customs House, South Shields.
24th April - 8th May 2015
Co-curator
Three PhD students work, exploring drawing in three very different ways. One through ceramics, another glass and the third drawing using a mechanical drawing machine.
Beyond The Wilderness Road: the paintings of David Watson - Tom McGuinness Gallery, Bishop Auckland and Constantine Gallery, Middlesbrough.
June 30th - July 19th, 2014 - September 2nd - 26th September 2014
Showcasing the work of local artist David Watson. A painter who creates industrial scenes of Teesside.
MIMA’s Emerging Curator: Cache - Stockton ARC
22nd June - 6th July 2013
Co-Curator
CACHE was the second of two exhibitions presented by mima’s Emerging Curators, featuring works from mima’s jewellery collection and new jewellery artists displayed alongside bold visuals from commercial advertising. The high street collides with the arts institution, as each attempts to sway consumer consciousness. We invite viewers to question: what, or who dictates value? To what extent do craftsmanship, the use of precious materials or the language of market aesthetics encourage consumption? These factors taste and trends.