Karen Gaskill

I am an independent curator and academic based in London, UK.

Curatorially I work nationally and internationally with independent venues, commercial gallery spaces, organisations and institutions, across the mediums of contemporary art, materials, technology, science and digital practice.

I currently direct and curate the Crafts Council’s new innovation programme, comprising of Make:Shift, a major conference launching in November 2014, a series of international partnership projects, and a UK wide public programme of events. Previous to this I was invited to act as Head of Exhibitions at Crafts Council from August 2012 to April 2013.

I was an advisor on the AHRC funded REACT Hub Internet of Things Objects Sandbox from January - June 2014. In recent years as an independent curator I have worked with the FutureEverything Festival curating their 2010 Art programme and establishing and managing their Art Award 2010-12. I have worked with FACT, Liverpool, Cornerhouse Gallery, Manchester, and curated exhibitions for a variety of galleries, festivals and organisations across the UK.

I am currently an external examiner at Liverpool John Moores University for the Digital Media Design Course International Programme, Malaysia, 2012-2016. Previously I held academic posts at Sheffield Hallam University as a Senior Lecturer and Researcher in Photography and Curatorial Studies, and at the University of Huddersfield as a Lecturer in Fine Art Media.

I was the founder, co-director and curator of Interval from 2005-2009, an arts organisation based in Manchester, UK, that provided a critical forum and exhibition platform for emergent to mid career artists working with technology.

I have a PhD in Curation, which considered the curation of process over object, referencing contexts of performance art, digital practice, and contemporary spatial works. I also write about curatorial culture, contemporary art and technology, for academic papers, critical journals and online platforms.