I’m BALTIC Professor and Director of BxNU Research Institute, Northumbria University & BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. I lecture and write about the economic and social construction of public value within contemporary art, the manipulation of forms of participation and the potential of forms of political, architectural and social reorganisation within artistic and curatorial culture. In my current role I have developed a collaborative space in Newcastle called the Experimental Studio where people from different disciplines – from the university, the BALTIC and from outside these institutions – can come together and test out ideas in a safe setting. Details of past and current events can be seen here https://research.northumbria.ac.uk/experimentalstudio/.

I work closely with artists, curators and arts institutions internationally. I have published books and articles on social concerns in relation to contemporary art, focusing in particular on education and organization. I am currently developing a research project about the history of the UK’s Community Arts Movement, and an international project about Settlement infrastructures. I am writing a book, Contemporary Art and the Production of Inequality, which will bring together discussions on the politics of public administration and management with recent analyses of arts institutions, alongside debates on value (public and private). This is informed by research into the political functions of the art market and personal experience of organising, lobbying, and governing contemporary arts institutions, arts education institutions, and working directly with artists.