I’m a curator and historian working at the intersection of art and science.
Much of my current and recent work is about “memory institutions” — museums, archives, and libraries. I work between the museum sector and academia: I have a strong research publication record, and I have produced exhibitions, both as the lead curator and as part of a curatorial team.
I was chosen as a British Art Network Emerging Curator for 2023, and in the same year was awarded a Smithsonian International Fellowship.
I am available for freelance writing, research, and curatorial projects, as well as for speaking engagements.
My AHRC-funded PhD project is titled Collecting the boundaries of art in the Science Museum. It is a collaborative doctoral project between the Science Museum Group and Birkbeck, University of London.
Previously I was Curator of Collections & Head of Library Services at Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet, where I led a large-scale digital project. Before that I taught at Sorbonne University’s Faculté des Lettres.
I have served as a freelance specialist consultant on the links between art and science for Penguin Random House, and have also provided historical expertise on various projects including The Man in the Red Coat by Booker Prize-winning writer Julian Barnes.
Click here to watch a short tour of highlights from the Science Museum’s Art Collection, co-hosted by me.
Click here to listen to my guest appearance on the Sensational Museum podcast.
Surya Bowyer 