Zoe Watson – Curator at The Lowry

After moving to Manchester from Bournemouth 11 years ago, Zoe Watson fell in love with the city she thought she would only spend a year in – carving a successful career within its arts scene. Today, she’s discovering Salford Quays and all it has to offer after taking the exciting role of contemporary Curator at The Lowry.

“For the past nine years, I’ve been based at Manchester School of Art working my way up through a number of roles until I became Curator of the Holden Gallery, and a Lecturer in Art Theory and Practice. I’m now very excited to be shaping the contemporary art programme at The Lowry, and currently working on Edits, which brings a variety of different artists and performers into the gallery, and allows us to experiment and show ambitious presentations of art. 

“Our next Edits exhibition ‘Stories For Us’ will feature the work of Manchester based comic illustrator Julian Gray. Julian is a queer, trans, disabled artist who uses his comics to platform characters who aren’t generally represented in mainstream comic culture, enabling stories to be told through the lens of different voices. 

“A typical day for me might involve working on future exhibitions and events, including researching and writing. A huge part of my role is working with artists, through studio visits and regular conversations, to help facilitate and realise their ideas. 

 “I love the fact the gallery attracts an eclectic mix of people from football fans, Lowry lovers, families and theatre goers. I’m keen to find ways of getting different audiences to engage with contemporary art. I‘m really passionate about delivering exhibitions which aim to reach audiences who wouldn’t normally think about stepping into an art gallery.” 

Collaboration is a key component to MediaCity’s success and Zoe is embracing the opportunities it will bring.

“I’m looking forward to making connections and working with the creative community here. It’s a really exciting time and I know by working together we can reach out to even more people in the locality and beyond,” she says.