Kathleen Soriano
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kathleen Soriano | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 July 1963 London, England |
| Alma mater | University of Leicester |
| Years active | 1989 – present |
| Known for | Ex-Director of Exhibitions - Royal Academy of Arts |
| Television | Artist of the Year |
| Spouse | Peter Greenhough |
| Children | Martha |
| Parents |
|
Kathleen Soriano (born 18 July 1963) is a British independent arts curator, writer and television broadcaster.
Kathleen Soriano was born in 1963 in London to parents Salvador Soriano and Kathleen O'Neill.[1] She is of Spanish heritage.[2] Soriano studied at the University of Leicester from 1982 until 1985 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts Honours in History of Art and English. In 1995 she married Peter Greenhough.[1]
Career
Her first major role in the arts was with the Royal Academy of Arts where she worked until 1989.[3] In 1989 she joined the National Portrait Gallery, London as its Head of Exhibitions and Collections.[3] She remained with the Gallery until 2006.[3]
In 2004, Soriano became a Clore Fellow at the Clore Leadership Programme during its inaugural year. The Clore Fellowship is a programme that aims to develop cultural leaders.[4] She carried out her secondment at the South Bank Centre with Michael Lynch and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.[4][5]
In February 2006, she left the National Portrait Gallery and became the director at Compton Verney in Warwickshire.[5] In 2007, Soriano became one of three judges who selected 238 works from 1600 entries from across the West Midlands for the Birmingham Open Art Exhibition.[6]
In late 2008, she was appointed the new director of exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts, replacing the retiring Sir Norman Rosenthal who had held the post for 31 years.[7] This was a new position replacing the former Exhibitions Secretary post.[8] She took up the role in January 2009. During her time at the Royal Academy of Arts she developed exhibitions such as Bronze, David Hockney, Van Gogh, and Degas.[3] In 2013, she curated the exhibition Australia at the Royal Academy.[9] It featured both Aboriginal heritage and Australian art covering 200 years.[9] She left the Royal Academy in 2014 and was replaced by Tim Marlow.[10]
In 2013, Soriano joined the television show Sky Arts Artist of the Year as one of the three expert judges.[11] She is continuing in this the role in the 2023 series, alongside Kate Bryan and Tai-Shan Schierenberg.[12]
From April 2014, Soriano began working independently as an art curator and on other cultural projects.[3] She was one of five judges of the Place Prize for Choreography in 2008 when Adam Linder won the main prize.[13]
In October 2016, Soriano was appointed as the chair of the board of trustees for the Liverpool Biennial, replacing Paula Ridley.[14]
During January 2018, she curated the London Art Fair's 30th Anniversary - Art of the Nation: Five Artists Choose.[15] In early 2019, she curated an exhibition of the works of Harald Sohlberg for the Dulwich Picture Gallery, the first exhibition of his works in the UK.[16]
Soriano was appointed chair of the Art UK charity in December 2022, replacing Charles Gregson.[17] In January 2025, Soriano became the interim director of Hastings Contemporary.[18]
