Keith Whittle is a curator, writer, and visiting professor based between London and Tokyo, with over two decades of experience in contemporary art. His curatorial practice spans research, commissioning, and exhibition-making, with a strong emphasis on collaboration with both emerging and established artists.
Whittle has worked with a wide network of institutions including the British Council, Tate Modern, Film London, MoMA, V&A South Kensington, SCAI the Bathhouse, Camden Arts Centre, Delfina Foundation, and The Japan Foundation. His projects range from monographic and thematic exhibitions to inter-institutional initiatives presented on national and international stages.
Over the course of his career, he has collaborated with leading contemporary artists including Sutapa Biswas, Michael Landy, Turner Prize winners Gillian Wearing, Douglas Gordon and Mark Leckey, nominees Isaac Julien and Janice Kerbel, and Sonia Boyce, recipient of the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale.
In recent years, Whittle has focused on promoting emerging and mid-career Japanese artists working across diverse media. Collaborations include exhibitions by Chim↑Pom, Bontaro Dokuyama, Taro Izumi, Kyunchome, Mari Katayama, Meiro Koizumi, Yuko Mohri, Aki Sasamoto, Chikako Yamashiro and Satoru Aoyama.
Alongside his curatorial work, Whittle has recently returned to his studio practice and is currently pursuing PhD research and writing on modern and contemporary art.
Selected Experience
Recipient of the Cultural Leadership Programme Award, a UK government-funded honor recognising excellence in leadership among dynamic and diverse leaders of the 21st century.
Associate Curator and Advisor (Exhibition Programme and Gallery Strategy) at White Rainbow, a gallery showcasing the work of international artists with a focus on contemporary art from Japan
Advisor and Assistant Director of the Beppu Triennial; Curator, Programme Director and Co-producer at Kashiwa Artist Residence, Japan.
Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Japanese Art at Sotheby’s Institute of Art; Guest Lecturer in Fine Art at Tokyo University of the Arts; and Visiting Professor at various comparable institutions.
Japan Foundation Fellow, as part of a programme supporting outstanding scholars, researchers, and professionals with opportunities to conduct research in Japan; and Fellow at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London.
Responsible for International Projects at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, with outcomes including the establishment of the Global Art Joint Project in collaboration with the Graduate School of Fine Arts at Tokyo University of the Arts.
Advisor and art consultant for galleries, academic institutions, and cultural organizations including Arts Council England and the British Council. Speaker at cultural institutions such as The Japan Foundation.
Formerly responsible for artists’ moving image projects at Film and Video Umbrella, the UK’s leading agency for commissioning and producing moving-image works, presented in collaboration with galleries and cultural partners across the country. Similarly, New Media Exhibitions and Digital Media Art Festival at the ICA | Institute of Contemporary Arts, exploring the possibilities of digital media and moving image in collaboration with international artists and digital media specialists.
Fellow and Director of Time-Based Media at the University of Sunderland, responsible for researching and curating new media and moving image projects in collaboration with regional, national, and international partners. Additionally, as Adjunct Research Fellow at the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) in Karlsruhe, Germany, he explored institutional archives and curatorial strategies focused on time-based media, including video, film, slides, audio, and both physical and digital computer technologies.