Kathleen Soriano appointed interim director of Hastings Contemporary

HOT’S Judy Parkinson heard the hot news while she was contemplating some immortal apples and eternal eggs in Hastings Contemporary. Kathleen Soriano will become the interim director of Hastings Contemporary, taking up her new role in January 2025.

Kathleen Soriano, an independent curator, strategic consultant and broadcaster, will take over from Liz Gilmore, who is stepping down from her role after 14 years to become CEO of The Sherborne, a new landmark gallery and arts space in the Dorset town of the same name. Soriano is chair of the Liverpool Biennial, on the Advisory Council of 2 Temple Place and a specialist advisor to the National Trust.

With a distinguished career spanning over 35 years in the art world, she has been responsible for contemporary and historical exhibitions, collections and public programmes at National Portrait Gallery and Royal Academy of Arts, where she was artistic director (2009-14), as well as at Compton Verney Art Gallery, where she was previously director.

She has curated landmark shows including David Hockney, Van Gogh, Degas and the celebrated exhibition showcasing Aboriginal heritage alongside two centuries of Australian art. She has lectured and written extensively and her book Madam and Eve, Women Portraying Women, co-authored with Liz Rideal, was published in 2018. Her broadcasting appearances include nine series of Portrait and Landscape Artist of the Year for Sky Arts for which she has been an expert judge since 2013.

Soriano has long admired Hastings Contemporary and its achievements. “It is an honour to be part of the team taking the enterprise forward and planning for the gallery’s future,” she said.

Chair of Hastings Contemporary, Professor Andrew Corbett-Nolan, said, “The Board of Trustees is absolutely delighted to be welcoming Kathleen Soriano to Hastings Contemporary. Her long and incredibly successful track record for world class programming and placemaking will be invaluable to us as we plan for the future; including the rollout of our new mobile studio, our continuing ambitions for digital innovation and the development of a new capital masterplan following the recent acquisition of the 99-year lease for the Hastings Contemporary building.”

The gallery brings world-class modern and contemporary art to a spectacular coastal setting. With an ambitious programme of exhibitions, events and activities, the gallery aims to enrich lives, support creativity and help Hastings to thrive. Showcasing internationally celebrated artists and emerging practitioners, the gallery has developed a reputation for its focus on painting and drawing, supported by artist patron Sir Quentin Blake.

“Hastings Contemporary is one of the most impressive and entrepreneurial cultural organisations in the UK and I couldn’t be more pleased and excited to be joining the team at this exciting phase in their development,” said Soriano as she looks forward to a bold new era in the life of the gallery and in Hastings itself.

Immortal Apples, Eternal Eggs
21 September 2024 – 16 March 2025
Hastings Contemporary
Rock-a-Nore Road, Hastings TN34 3DW
Wednesday to Sunday and Bank Holidays
11am to 5pm (last entry 4.30pm)

www.hastingscontemporary.org  @hastingscontemporary

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