Martin Caiger-Smith

Professor Martin Caiger-Smith is the Head of MA Curating the Art Museum at The Courtauld Institute of Art. He has held senior roles at major London galleries, including Head of Exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery (1996–2006) and Acting Director (2005/6). His career spans curation, exhibition development, and academic leadership. He has curated influential exhibitions such as Magritte (1992), Francis Bacon: The Human Body (1998), and Dan Flavin (2006), many of which toured internationally.

His research focuses on modern and contemporary museum practices, curatorship, and the historiography of exhibitions and display. He is an active consultant, writer, and programme advisor, contributing to institutions like Two Temple Place in London. He co-supervises PhD students, including Miranda Stearn, on topics relating to museum-commissioned contemporary art interventions in historic collections.

Martin’s professional activities include roles as an external examiner for the MA Curating programme at the University of Kent and as an independent curator/writer. His recent publication includes a monograph on Antony Gormley (Royal Academy of Arts, 2019).