Adam Gallagher

Adam Gallagher is a Lecturer in Fine Art (Studio Practice) in the Art Department at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is an artist, organiser and educator working across performance, text, sculpture, sound, collaboration and events. His practice critically examines the role of artist in society, questioning who has permission to make art, what the preconditions for art-making are, and what purpose being an artist serves.

His educational background includes:

• B.A. Hons, Central Saint Martins, London (2012)
• Foundation Art and Design, Central Saint Martins, London (2009)

Gallagher's research unpacks British decolonial and class histories, subcultures and countercultures in terms of artistic/cultural production. He is particularly interested in how class and race are fantasised, fetishised and consumed in culture, and how this creates and recreates the subjugated 'Other'. His work often serves as a radical response to the dismantling of shared cultural spaces. He has developed a series of 15 pamphlets called E.A.R.F. that form the basis of his artworks and exhibitions, exploring topics like fancy-dress, mods, mining memorabilia, radicalisation in young people, and property developers.

His artistic output demonstrates a consistent evolution toward investigating communal resistance through events and performances. Recent works increasingly incorporate sculptural elements transformed through performance (like the tensegrity structures using chimney sweep rods), while maintaining his focus on the political dimensions of space, identity, and cultural production. His practice bridges historical analysis with contemporary social critique, particularly examining how economic structures shape artistic production and cultural spaces.

His projects have been funded by prestigious organizations including:

• Arts Council England
• TORCH (The Oxford Research Centre for the Humanities, University of Oxford)
• The Danish Arts Foundation
• La Fondation Leenaards, Switzerland
• The Site for Contemporary Psychoanalysis, London

Gallagher co-runs Existers, a nomadic artist-led space, and Reject All, an experimental music night in London, with Ruth Angel Edwards. He previously co-founded a.m. London, an artist space focused on film that was active from November 2014 to July 2017, screening 45 films including many premieres. His practice is deeply invested in events as communal spaces of shared resistance, often collaborating with other artists across cultural disciplines.