معرفی
Laura Sillars is the Director of MIMA (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) and affiliated with Teesside University through the Institute for Collective Place Leadership. She holds a PhD from Durham University and is actively engaged in research, curation, and cultural leadership. Her work bridges academic inquiry and public-facing art practice, with a focus on the civic role of arts institutions.
- PhD, The Mineral Image: Contemporary Art and Digital Technology, Durham University (Awarded 2022)
- PGCE (Adult and Community Education), Institute of Education, University of London (2004)
- MA, Modern Art (1907–1945), Courtauld Institute of Art (2002)
- BA (Hons), History and History of Art, University of York (2000)
Her research centers on the relationship between art and civic society, particularly how visual artists critique technological, economic, and social infrastructures. Drawing from Romantic, mystical, and techno-scientific traditions, her work explores the intersections of art, technology, and public space. She has curated major exhibitions like Liquid Crystal Display and has contributed essays to key publications on artists such as Sonia Boyce and Lynn Hershman Leeson.
The recent publications reflect a consistent engagement with digital art, materiality, and cultural critique. Themes include biomaterials, light-based installations, and the role of art in addressing systemic social issues. Her work often involves collaboration with artists and institutions across the UK and internationally.
She has held advisory and governance roles in prominent arts organizations including Engage, AHRC, FutureEverything, and Workplace Foundation. Her leadership extends to strategic cultural planning, as seen in her contributions to Middlesbrough’s cultural vision for 2030.
Laura Sillars supervises PhD students and leads research projects such as Green Corridors NE, which explores natureculture and biodiversity through collaborative art and ecological practice. She is deeply embedded in both academic and public cultural networks, contributing to exhibitions, reports, and media commentary on the transformative power of art in urban regeneration.
She is affiliated with MIMA and the Institute for Collective Place Leadership, where she fosters interdisciplinary collaboration between artists, communities, and academic researchers to reimagine public space and cultural infrastructure.
