Art UK welcomes new Chair

KATHLEEN SORIANO is to be the next Chair of cultural charity Art UK.

A curator, broadcaster and writer, Soriano will take up the new role in December. She will take over from CHARLES GREGSON, who has been Chair of Art UK – previously known as the Public Catalogue Foundation – since 2011. 

With over 35 years’ experience in the art world, Soriano has been responsible for collections and exhibitions at the National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Academy of Arts, where she was Artistic Director until 2014, as well as the Compton Verney Art Gallery, where she was Director until 2009. 

She will be supported by new Vice-Chair GEORGE ENTWISTLE, a former Director-General of the BBC. During his 23 years with the broadcaster, Entwistle edited Newsnight, launched the Culture Show and was Head of TV Current Affairs. 

Soriano and Entwistle will assist the Art UK team as it supports the 3,400 collection venues that feature on the Art UK website. 

Entwistle, who has been a trustee of Art UK since its launch, said: “Art UK has become a vital part of the nation's digital infrastructure, making available online – free of charge – high quality images of every oil and acrylic painting in public ownership, the best of the nation's sculpture, and many more artworks besides.”

Soriano said as a curator, she relies “heavily on the digital access to the nation’s collections that Art UK provides”. In a critical time for the sector, Soriano says Art UK plays an essential role in “uniting and championing” museums through its creative and entrepreneurial use of digital.

“We put communities – be they artists, museum professionals, schoolchildren or broader audiences – at the heart of all that we do. I look forward not only to championing that mission but to driving it forward with the board and team,” she added.