Angela Bartholomew

Dr. Angela Bartholomew is an Assistant Professor of Modern & Contemporary Art History at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Faculty of Humanities, Department of Art and Culture). Her research focuses on the mediation of art and the strategies artists used to control exhibition practices in the Low Countries during the 1980s and 1990s. She holds a PhD from VU Amsterdam (2021), an MA in Visual Art, Media, and Architecture (cum laude, 2013), and a BA in Art History & Criticism from UC San Diego (2008).

Her teaching spans undergraduate and graduate levels, including courses on contemporary art history, exhibition theories, and curatorial practices. She coordinates the MA Curating Arts & Culture program and has led initiatives like the MA Study Trip on Art in Public Space. Bartholomew is also a board member of Stichting Kunstlicht and Stichting Billytown.

Her research explores how artists challenged institutional frameworks through exhibitions, leveraging social, political, and technological shifts. Notable projects include analyzing the Stedelijk Museum’s role in media art and examining site-specific art strategies. She has published widely on topics like institutional critique, curatorial practices, and the intersection of art and television.

Bartholomew’s work bridges historical analysis and contemporary debates, emphasizing the evolving relationship between artists and exhibition spaces. Her NWO-funded PhD research highlighted pivotal exhibitions in Flanders and the Netherlands, showcasing how artists reclaimed agency over their work’s presentation and reception.