Arts / Spike island
Spike Island announces new director
Spike Island has announced the appointment of Robert Leckie as its new director. He will take up the position in autumn 2018.
Since 2011, Leckie has been curator and head of programmes at London’s contemporary arts organisation Gasworks, where he leads the exhibitions, residencies and public programmes.
As curator and head of programmes at Gasworks, Leckie has curated the first UK solo exhibitions of international artists such as Monira Al Qadiri, Candice Lin, Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa and Kemang Wa Lehulere. He has also commissioned new work by UK-based artists including Zach Blas, Rachal Bradley, Evan Ifekoya and Sidsel Meineche Hansen, and established numerous international partnerships and collaborative projects.
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In 2016-17 he co-curated the exhibition A Kingdom of Hours together with Miguel A. Lopez, which was presented across both Gasworks and TEOR/éTica in San José, while recent commissions have travelled to Art in General in New York and the Sursock Museum in Beirut.
Leckie co-curated the exhibition A Kingdom of Hours at Gasworks
Leckie succeeds Helen Legg in the role of Spike Island director. Legg was appointed as Director of Tate Liverpool earlier this year and took up the post in July 2018.
Robert Leckie said: “I am honoured to join Spike Island as director. My experience of leading the exhibitions and international residencies programmes at Gasworks makes me hugely excited about expanding upon Spike Island’s potential as an integrated centre for the production and presentation of art. I look forward to working strategically with colleagues and partners in Bristol and beyond to further Spike Island’s impact on a local, national and international scale.”
Andrew Cooper, Chair of Spike Island said: “Spike Island reached new levels of achievement during Helen Legg’s period as director. We believe that Robert is exactly the right person to build upon this success and to grasp the opportunities that come with it, and we are confident that he will deliver great things for Spike Island and the visual arts in Bristol and beyond. We look forward to seeing his passion, commitment and inclusive approach towards developing and supporting artists, translated to Spike Island’s unique and thriving ecology.”
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