Nigel Walsh

Curator Contemporary Art @Leeds City Council

I\'m currently Curator of Contemporary Art at Leeds Art Gallery, part of Leeds Museums & Galleries. I came to work here in 1986 (oh so long ago.), having previously trained as an exhibition organiser with the Scottish Arts Council after a degree in English Studies with Fine Art at the University of Stirling. I took up the post as the Gallery\'s first dedicated \'exhibitions officer\'. From Senior Assistant Keeper (Exhibitions) I then became Curator of Exhibitions, involved in devising, organising and implementing the Gallery\'s temporary exhibition programme. In 2007 I took a \'sideways\' move to my current role, with responsibility for the Gallery\'s permanent art collection, thought to be \"probably the best collection of 20th century British Art outside London\". The role involves managing, interpreting and presenting the City\'s public collection as well as finding ways to develop it, often involving working directly with artists to create new work for the Gallery. I was born and grew up in Bradford and currently live in Ilkley where I\'m also on the Board of Management for the Ilkley Literature Festival.