Speakers at the Future Now Symposium 2020
Aimee Dawson
Assistant Digital Editor, The Art Newspaper
The Changing Face of Journalism
Aimee Dawson is the assistant digital editor at The Art Newspaper, a journal of record for the visual arts world. She specialises in art from the Middle East and North Africa, having studied Arabic and Middle East studies and contemporary African and Asian art. Aimee is also Partnerships and Special Projects Manager at Ibraaz, working on the Visual Culture of the Middle East book series. Previous roles include being the writer-in-residence for Shubbak Festival.
Ameena M. McConnell
Independent Design Curator, Creative Fruits
Curators’ Spotlight
Ameena is currently an ACE Change maker as Curator at large for the Design Museum. For LDF2018 she curated Loop.pH’s VR installation – Mind Pilot. For the public programme, Ameena has curated salons #I.BELONG and Be Seen! Get Heard! exploring themes – belonging, representation, visibility and leadership, amplifying voices of British creative professionals with heritages from the Afrikan diaspora and the Afrikan continent.
Andrea Luka Zimmerman
Artist
Artists’ Film
Andrea Luka Zimmerman is an artist and filmmaker whose work is concerned with marginalisation, co-existence, waywardness and social justice. Films include the Artangel-produced Here for Life, 2019, which had its world premiere at Locarno Film Festival and Erase and Forget, 2017, premiering at the Berlin Film Festival. Zimmerman has had exhibitions at Whitechapel Gallery, and is co-founder of the cultural collective Fugitive Images.
Anna Dannemann
Curator, The Photographers’ Gallery
What is the Power of a Photograph?
Anna Dannemann is a senior curator at The Photographers’ Gallery. She has curated exhibitions including the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize. She co-curated Feminist Avantgarde of the 1970s and Alex Prager’s Silver Lake Drive, and has organized solo shows, including Charlotte Dumas’ Anima & The Widest Prairies and Viviane Sassen’s Analemma. Dannemann received a Master of Arts in Art and Visual History.
Caterina Mestrovich
Associate Director, ATLAS Gallery
The Business of Art
Photography specialist Caterina Mestrovich is the Associate Director of leading London photography gallery Atlas Gallery. As co-curator of an extensive exhibition programme, she coordinates, directs and oversees shows whilst liaising with relevant local and international institutions and fairs. Born and raised in Venice, Italy, Caterina’s background is in History of Art and Cultural Heritage. She has gained significant experience at all the major London auction houses.
Charles Danby
Senior Lecturer in Fine Art, Northumbria University
New Technologies
Charles works collaboratively across painting, photography, film, object construction, writing and curation with artist Rob Smith as a member of the collective NEUSCHLOSS. Charles is on the board of Norwegian Collaborative Organisation For Contemporary Art Abroad. He curated an exhibitions programme for choreographer Siobhan Davies at her London studios 2009-12 and was editor of Tanks Programme Notes 2012 for Tate Modern.
Charmian Griffin
Head of Digital, Artangel
New Technologies
Charmian Griffin is Head of Digital at Artangel, a London-based organisation that creates extraordinary art in unexpected places. She produced their first major online work Jerusalem by Paul Pfeiffer in 2014 and their first networked project Red Lines by Evan Roth in 2018. She continues to run their digital programme, teach art criticism at Central Saint Martins and write on art and technology whilst freelancing.
Claire Catterall
Senior Curator, Somerset House
Curators’ Spotlight
Claire Catterall works as Senior Curator at Somerset House, delivering a distinctive programme of exhibitions and cultural events covering architecture, design, fashion and photography. These include Perfume: A Sensory Journey through Contemporary Scent; Print! Tearing It Up; and Good Grief, Charlie Brown. Claire also devised the institution’s annual contemporary graphic art festival. She started at London’s Design Museum in the 1990s.
Cornelia Parker
Artist
Transforming Objects
Cornelia Parker (RA, OBE) is world-renowned. She was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1997 and was the first female figure to be appointed the Election Artist for the UK General Election in 2017. She has exhibited internationally with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, V&A, Tate, the British Council and the British Museum, and, most recently, MCA Australia. Key works include Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View and Heart of Darkness.
Damon Jackson-Waldock
Curator, Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Curators’ Spotlight
Damon Jackson-Waldock is a Curator at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, an international centre for modern and contemporary art set in 500 acres of historic parkland. Offering five galleries and an 18th-century chapel, it presents year-round exhibitions of work by renowned and emerging artists. Offsite projects include guest curation for at The Piece Hall, Halifax (2018-19), and he is a Career Mentor at Sheffield Hallam University.
Diane Smyth
Writer, Editor & Curator
The Changing Face of Journalism
Diane Smyth is a freelance journalist specialising in photography. A writer and editor on the British Journal of Photography for over 15 years, she now works with publications such as the FT Weekend Magazine, The Guardian, The Observer, Foam, Aperture, Unseen, Creative Review and Aesthetica. Diane has spoken at LCC and CASS, judged NPG’s Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize and curated shows at The Photographers’ Gallery.
Denise Fahmy
Relationship Manager Visual Arts, Arts Council England
Understanding the Funding Landscape
Denise Fahmy is Relationship Manager Visual Arts at Arts Council England. ACE champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences to enrich people’s lives. It supports a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art – reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Fahmy is offering a series of unique and tailored advice surgeries at Future Now, discussing funding with individuals.
Eliza Williams
Editor, Creative Review
The Changing Face of Journalism
Eliza Williams is Editor at Creative Review magazine. She is also a writer, critic and broadcaster on art, design, advertising and music. Williams hosts the Creative Review Podcast. Eliza has published two books via Laurence King, titled This Is Advertising and How 30 Great Ads Were Made, and has contributed texts to several books published by Phaidon, including The 21st Century Art Book and The Phaidon Archive of Graphic Design.
Fran Sanderson
Director, Nesta
Career Support: Key Funding Opportunities
Fran leads the Arts & Culture Programmes and Investments team at Nesta. The team articulates the impact of the arts on the creative economy. They have collaborated with Arts Council England to produce the Digital Culture Survey. Current initiatives are a programme helping organisations use digital ideas to generate social impact; a project investigating the Audience of the Future; and a prize bringing the short story into the 21st century.
Griselda Goldsbrough
Aesthetica Art Prize
How to Get Ahead as an Emerging Artist
Griselda Goldsbrough is a visual artist and writer, community educator and co-curator of an arts and events company, Spike and Sponge. She has over 15 years’ experience in devising and curating creative art, science and literature programmes and events. Griselda provides comprehensive arts and education consultancy which is tailored to meet client’s specific needs. She has also been involved in the Aesthetica Art Prize for several years running.
Hannah Hughes
Curator of Photography, Flowers Gallery
In Conversation with Nadav Kander
Hannah Hughes is Head of Communications and Curator of Photography at Flowers, a leading gallery exhibiting contemporary painting, sculpture, photography. Established in 1970, it represents artists including Edward Burtynsky, Edmund Clark, Julie Cockburn, Scarlett Hooft Graafland and Michael Wolf. Recent exhibitions include Life in Cities, Civilization and Prix Pictet Space. Hughes worked at Cubitt Gallery and Vancouver Film School.
Jo Verrent
Senior Producer, Unlimited
Building an Inclusive Industry
Jo Verrent is currently the senior producer for Unlimited – the world’s largest commissions programme for disabled artists. She endeavours to get work seen, discussed and embedded within the cultural fabric of the UK, working with partners such as the Arts Council, Creative Scotland, Southbank Centre and the British Council. She runs SYNC, examining the interplay between disability and leadership in the cultural sector.
John Keane
Artist
Painting Contemporary Thought
John Keane is a renowned political artist whose work continues to address the most pressing social and political issues of our time. His sustained artistic inquiry into military and social conflicts around the world has extended from Northern Ireland to the Middle East, where he was commissioned as the Official British War Artist of the 1991 Gulf War. His paintings depict displacement, war, terror, politics and the environment.
John Rose-Adams
Project Manager, XR Stories
Career Support: Key Funding Opportunities
John Rose-Adams’ role is to identify and nurture projects with commercial promise. He ensures the projects XR Stories support are the absolute best they can be. Rose-Adams joined XR Stories following on from 10 years of working in higher education, leading on strategic projects, research and development, research projects and programmes and managing programmes of academic consultancy. XR Stories invests in Yorkshire’s digital storytelling.
Jonathan Brown
Senior Lecturer, York St John University
The Changing Face of Journalism
Jonathan Brown is a senior lecturer in Journalism at York St John University. He is a professional journalist, educator and researcher with 25-years’ experience in the national media. He worked for The Independent and i newspapers as news editor, senior writer and north of England editor. Jonathan began his career at the Press Association, reporting from the agency’s HQ in London and in Parliament, the High Court and the Old Bailey.
Joseph Galliano
CEO and Co-Founder, Queer Britain
Building an Inclusive Industry
Joseph Galliano is a fundraiser, journalist, former editor of Gay Times magazine and third sector ambassador manager. Galliano is now throwing all his energy into building an organisation capable of launching the UK’s first national LGBTQ+ museum, Queer Britain. The vision for Queer Britain encompasses bricks and mortar, digital immersive spaces, story gathering and pop-up exhibitions. It celebrate exciting people, stories and ideas.
Lilli Geissendorfer
Director, Jerwood Visual Arts
Career Support: Key Funding Opportunities
Lilli Geissendorfer is Director of Jerwood Arts, the leading independent funder dedicated to supporting UK artists, curators and producers to thrive. Since taking on the role in January 2018, Geissendorfer has re-launched the foundation with a new name and new funds under a refreshed vision to provide transformative opportunities for artists at pivotal moments – usually within the first ten years of establishing their practice.
Liz West
Artist
How to Get Ahead as an Emerging Artist
Liz West is a British artist (b.1985) who graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 2007. West’s broad body of work encompasses site-specific installations, sculpture, and wall-based artwork. West creates vivid environments that mix luminous colour and radiant light. West has been commissioned worldwide by institutions including Natural History Museum, National Trust, National Science and Media Museum and London Design Festival.
Liz Whitehead
Director, Fabrica
How to Get Ahead as an Emerging Artist
Whitehead co-directs Fabrica, an independent charity recognised by the Arts Council as a leading visual artist-led organisation. They commission exhibitions of contemporary visual art, accompanying events and educational activities for the broadest possible audience; support artists’ professional development; and run a large volunteer programme. Fabrica collaborates with partners such as Brighton Festival, Photoworks and Lighthouse.
Lottie Davies
Photographer
What is the Power of a Photograph?
Lottie Davies is currently based in London and Cornwall, creating work concerned with stories and personal histories. Her work has garnered international acclaim, winning First Prize at the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Awards at the National Portrait Gallery, London. Her collaboration on Dreams of Your Life with Hide & Seek/Film 4.0 was BAFTA-nominated in 2012. NPG, described Davies’ work as “brilliantly imaginative.”
Martin Parr
Photographer
Headline Speaker
Martin Parr is a chronicler of our age. He is internationally renowned for innovative social documentary imagery. Parr has exhibited at major venues including National Portrait Gallery and Barbican. He was president of Magnum Photos, and received the Sony World Photography Award for Outstanding Contribution to Photography in 2017 – the same year the Martin Parr Foundation opened in Bristol. He has published over 100 books.
Maryam Lawal
Founder and Director, House of African Art
Building an Inclusive Industry
House of African Art (HAART) is an art and entertainment platform that promotes artists from Africa and the African diaspora. Breaking away from the traditional art gallery experience, HAART holds pop-up exhibitions and events encompassing music, poetry and live performances in addition to the visual arts. HAART was founded in 2018 by British-Nigerian lawyer Lawal, who has a passion for the arts with a particular focus on the African continent.
Mila Askarova
Director, Gazelli Art House
The Business of Art
Mila Askarova founded Gazelli Art House, London, in 2010 as a second space to the gallery in Baku. Through these contemporary art spaces and the creation of educational programmes, seminars and exhibitions, Mila has increased awareness of Azeri artists abroad. Upon completion of her International Relations BSc degree at LSE, she worked at Sotheby’s whilst curating shows in Baku and Istanbul. She is an alumna of Central Saint Martins and Christie’s.
Mirka Kotulicova
Arts Council England
Understanding the Funding Landscape
Mirka Kotulicova is Assistant in Arts Council England’s Visual Arts and Museums team in London. Kotulicova has great knowledge of the UK visual arts landscape and has been particularly interested in public engagement, commissioning, art writing and artist support. She has held positions in arts spaces, community organisations and museums in gallery management – working on exhibition curation, public consultation and research.
Nadav Kander
Photographer
Headline Speaker
Nadav Kander was the recipient of the 2019 Sony Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award. His photographs invite viewers pay attention to globalisation, industrial decline and environmental destruction. Projects include Yangtze – The Long River, winner of the 2009 Prix Pictet. Kander’s work has been exhibited at venues including Musée de L’Elysée, Barbican Centre, The Photographers’ Gallery, Somerset House and Palais de Tokyo.
Nigel Prince
Director, Artes Mundi
How to Get Ahead as an Emerging Artist
Nigel Prince became Director of Artes Mundi in 2019. Previous roles include Executive Director at the Contemporary Art Gallery (CAG), Vancouver, Canada, and Curator at Ikon Gallery, Birmingham. Prince began his career at Tate Liverpool. He has worked with names including Ryan Gander, Andrea Zittel, Donald Judd and Olafur Eliasson. His 2009 exhibition with Cuban artist Carmen Herrera was acclaimed by The Guardian and The New York Times.
Dr Ope Lori
Lecturer, Leeds Arts University
Building an Inclusive Industry
Born in 1984 Ope Lori lives and works in London. She teaches at both Chelsea College of Arts, Leeds Arts University and holds a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at Transnational Art Identity and Nation Research Centre, UAL, where she completed her PhD in 2014. Lori’s works use lens-based media to play with social and internal politics. The works are purposely thought provoking, using stereotypes in re-presenting dominant social narratives.
Paula Orrell
Coordinator, Visual Arts South West
Career Support: Key Funding Opportunities
Paula Orrell is passionate about supporting the creation of exceptional visual arts. She has a wealth of international experience, including in Plymouth as a Curator and Artistic Director, and in New Zealand as Artistic Director and Principal Curator of the Centre for Contemporary Art in Christchurch. She has helped to establish the careers of many creatives and has worked with artists including Marina Abramović and John Akomfrah.
Penny Harris
Partner, Parker Harris
How to Get Ahead as an Emerging Artist
Penny Harris has been a Partner in Parker Harris since 1989. Parker Harris is one of the leading visual arts consultancies in the UK. It works with trusts, foundations and public and private arts organisations to create and run sustainable art projects throughout the UK and internationally. The work spans all disciplines – from photography, painting and film to sound and performance. Penny is a member of the Surrey Hill Arts Advisory Group.
Pierre Saurisse
Lecturer, Sotheby’s Institute of Art
Curators’ Spotlight
Pierre Saurisse is a Lecturer in Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, in London. His book Mechanics of the Unpredictable explores the question of chance in art in the 1960s. He has written on Gilbert and George in Visual Culture in Britain. His work is also published in Sculptures, Espace Art Actuel and The Mediatization of the Artist. Saurisse has taught contemporary art at the Universities of Aix-Marseilles and Rennes.
Richard Waring
Course Leader, Arts University Bournemouth
How to Get Ahead as an Emerging Artist
Richard Waring is the Course Leader the BA (Hons) Fine Art Degree at the Arts University Bournemouth. He studied at Chelsea School of Art for his MA in Fine Art and at Cardiff for his BA. Richard is currently undertaking a PhD about Fine Art pedagogy and co-ordinates educational projects in Milan and Athens. Richard has exhibited and curated widely – including for the ICA. A recent Arts Council England project saw Richard re-envision an Anthony Caro sculpture.
Sara de Jong
Lecturer, University of York
Artists’ Film
Sara de Jong is a lecturer in the Department of Politics, University of York. Her research interests include migration, (post)colonialism, race and racism, gender, sexuality and feminist politics. She currently conducts research on the claims to protection, rights and settlement by those who have worked for Western military forces and development organisations, as well as on the activities and strategies of their advocates.
Sophie Parker
Head of Exhibitor Relations, Photo London
The Business of Art
Sophie Parker is Head of Exhibitor Relations at Photo London, the UK’s leading photography fair. She is responsible for the recruitment and care of over 100 galleries, helping with curation, logistics and production. Sophie joined Photo London in 2018. Now in its sixth edition, 2020 will be her third fair. Prior to Photo London, Sophie worked at Alan Cristea gallery – organising client events and the gallery’s art fair schedule.
Thomas Dukes
Curator
What is the Power of a Photograph?
Thomas Dukes’ previous roles include curator at Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool – a space to explore photography’s unique ability to connect, tell stories, reflect on humanity and to celebrate diversity and creativity. An MA in Arts, Aesthetics & Cultural Institutions at Liverpool University led to an internship with Karen Newman, an ongoing inspiration in visual media. Open Eye’s recent shows include Ren Hang: Wake Up Together.
Wilhemina Madeley
Project Manager, Acute Art
New Technologies
Acute Art collaborates with the world’s most compelling contemporary artists, including Marina Abramovic, Olafur Eliasson and Anish Kapoor, translating their creative vision into new digital mediums – including virtual, augmented and mixed realities. Madeley works in exhibition management, communications strategy, events and artist liaison. Madeley has studied at The Courtauld Institute of Art and University College London.