British independent arts curator, writer and television broadcaster
Kathleen Soriano |
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| Born | (1963-07-18) 18 July 1963 (age 60)
London, England, United Kingdom |
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| Nationality | British |
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| Alma mater | University of Leicester |
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| Years active | 1989 – present |
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| Known for | Ex-Director of Exhibitions - Royal Academy of Arts |
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| Television | Artist of the Year |
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| Spouse | Peter Greenhough |
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| Children | Martha |
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| Parents | - Salvador Soriano (father)
- Kathleen O'Neill (mother)
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Kathleen Soriano (born 18 July 1963) is a British independent arts curator, writer and television broadcaster.
Background
Kathleen Soriano was born in 1963 in London to parents Salvador Soriano and Kathleen O'Neill.[1] She 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.[2] In 1989 she joined the National Portrait Gallery, London as its Head of Exhibitions and Collections.[2] She remained with the Gallery until 2006.[2]
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.[3] She carried out her secondment at the South Bank Centre with Michael Lynch and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.[3][4]
In February 2006, she left the National Portrait Gallery and became the director at Compton Verney in Warwickshire.[4] 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.[5]
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.[6] This was a new position replacing the former Exhibitions Secretary post.[7] 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.[2] In 2013, she curated the exhibition Australia at the Royal Academy.[8] It featured both Aboriginal heritage and Australian art covering 200 years.[8] She left the Royal Academy in 2014 and was replaced by Tim Marlow.[9]
In 2013, Soriano joined the television show Sky Arts Artist of the Year as one of the three expert judges.[10] She is continuing in this the role in the 2023 series, alongside Kate Bryan and Tai-Shan Schierenberg.[11]
From April 2014, Soriano began working independently as an art curator and on other cultural projects.[2] She was one of five judges of the Place Prize for Choreography in 2008 when Adam Linder won the main prize.[12]
In October 2016, Soriano was appointed as the chair of the board of trustees for the Liverpool Biennial, replacing Paula Ridley.[13]
During January 2018, she curated the London Art Fair's 30th Anniversary - Art of the Nation: Five Artists Choose.[14] 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.[15]
Soriano was appointed chair of the Art UK charity in December 2022, replacing Charles Gregson.[16]
