Professor of Contemporary Art and Photography. Research lead for (FACP).

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Professor Jean Wainwright

Professor Jean Wainwright is the research lead for the School of Fine Art, Craft and Photography. She supervises PhD students. She publishes extensively on the art world and is a curator, art critic and magazine editor. She also appears regularly on TV and on broadcast radio. Her Audio Art archive begun in 1996 numbers over 2,000 interviews with artists, architect’s curators, and arts professionals. 177 of her interviews are in the Tate Gallery archives and online on their site.

Bio

Professor Jean Wainwright is an art historian, critic and curator living in London. Her areas of expertise are in contemporary art and photography, with reference to the artist’s voice. Her Audio Art Archive (begun in 1996) is continuing. She has published numerous essays and chapters in books and in refereed journals as well as publishing monographs. Wainwright was the consultant and archivist on Andy Warhol’s America a three-part documentary for BBC2 (2022) and has appeared on a number of TV programmes and radio broadcasts talking about contemporary art and Andy Warhol including the BBC, Channel 4 and on radio.

Her writing is linked to primary source interviews. She is the editor of STATE/F22 magazine and is currently writing a book on Andy Warhol and working on a major project on the Venice Art Biennale, Diversity and Networks from 1999 to 2024. She has curated a number of international exhibitions. She has  taught for many years on BA, and MA courses at UCA. She heads up the Research Centre for her School at the University and is a tutor for PhD students.

Forthcoming chapters:

Publications. TV and Curation 2014-2024:

  • Frank Stella. A life in Forms. Catalogue Essay. Wetterling Gallery Press 2023. 
  • Karen Knorr: Connoisseurs and Academies. Afterward. Kehrerverlag 2024
  • Manual Vason: The Photo Performance in Manuel Vason. Unframing Photography. Performing the image to see otherwise. Live Art Development Agency (London 2022) p 122-133 https://www.unframingphotography.com/publication
  • Eternal Memories in Eternal Seduction Stockholm September 2022 WG 115 p3-8
  • Frank Stella: The Artist the Legend (interview) (Cover Feature) in STATE Magazine issue May/June 2022 8-15
  • Mediated Pain: Andy Warhol and the EPI (cover feature) In STATE/Documents Magazine (supplement) May/June 2022 4-15
  • Andy Warhol’s America. Translating Warhol for television. In Journal of Art Historiography (26). ISSN 2042-4752 26/JW1 June 2022
  • Random Bodies: Random International, in Digital Fabrication in Interior Design: Body Object Enclosure. Jonathan Anderson, Lois Weinthal (Eds) Routledge p 56-66. Dec  2021
  • David Magee. Extended interview in Outside 11 Concentric editions (2021)
  • Folkestone Triennale 2021. 22 commissioned artist interviews for the Triennale official website https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEz3NEIxA-bdUfiHLPHwmdxKEjhkS3RCR
  • Douglas Abdell: A Reconstructed Trap House in The London Magazine 25/10.2021
    https://www.thelondonmagazine.org/interview-douglas-abdell-talks-to-jean-wainwright-about-a-reconstructed-trap-house/
  • To the Lighthouse in Falling Away: Catherine Yass at Ambika P3 (cat) University of Westminster. 2021 72-79
  • Noé Sendas: The Shape of Things to Come. Jean Wainwright in conversation with Noé Sendas in Noé Sendas. Vanishing Acts. P26-35. Skira Spring 2020
  • Superpopulistic: The Art of Philip Colbert in Philip Colbert:Lobster Land p116-127 Multimedia Art Museum Jan 2020
  • Small Lies: Authenticity and the Artist Interview in the Journal of Art Historiography,’ 23/JW1 https://arthistoriography.wordpress.com/23-dec20/
  • Fast Forward and Rewind: Voices of Women Photographers: in Photography and Culture Volume 13—Issues 3–4 September–December 2020 pp. 403–418
  • Ship to Shore: Art and the Lure of the Sea. (Monograph) Jean Wainwright. John Hansard/Cornerhouse Publications Dec 2018 ISBN 9780854329762  Dec 2018
  • The Seductiveness of Endless Possibilities. In Robin Rhode. The Geometry of Colour p51-80 Skira March 2019
  • Holding Hands with History. In Morten Viskum: Works 1993-2016 (Ed Demetrio Paparoni) Jean Wainwright pp 87-159 Skira  2018 ISBN: 978-88-572-2866-2
  • Bloodlines. In Nathalia Edenmont. R Eriksson (Ed)  Bus Sweden  ISBN-978-9187543-50-0. 2015
  • Lluis Barba Making History. In Luis Barba: Tavel in Time p 17-25. Related (Perez) publishing 2015
  • Mediated Pain: Andy Warhol’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable. In Across The Great Divide: Modernism's Intermedialities, From Futurism to Fluxus. C Townsend (Ed), pp 158-186   IBSN 978-1-4438-5478-8. Cambridge Scholars Publishing Dec 2014
  • The Art of Jessica Voorsanger. Jean Wainwright (ed) Black Dog Publishing ISBN 978-1-908966-85-8 2014 
  • Rites of Passage: Book edited by Jean Wainwright for the Venice Biennale of photographs. Ed.100. published by UCA.
  • Richard Wilson: Slipstream. Jean Wainwright. FutureCity ISBN 978-0-9228938-0-4 2014. BAA. 2014 (i book at: https://futurecity.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Richard_Wilson_Slipstream.pdf)

Recent exhibitions which she has curated include:

  • Documents from the Edges of Conflict: James Hockey Gallery 01/12/21 – 18/03/2022.
  • Beg Steal and Borrow:  Bermondsey Project Space 26th – 7th Feb. 2019.
  • Powerful Tides: 400 Years of Chatham and the Sea. The Historic Dockyard Chatham. 23rd March -17th June 2018.
  • Another Spring:  Exeter Phoenix Gallery. Exeter. 4th May – 17th June 2018.
  • Gestures of Resistance. Romansto Cultural Centre. Athens. 20th April  to 30th May 2017.
  • The Data Battlefield in the Fotomuseum (FOMU) Antwerp 28th April to 4th June 2017.

She also exhibited in Women in Photography – A History of British Trailblazers, with 20 interviews recorded with women artists and included as part of the exhibition at The Lightbox Woking 30th Jan – 2nd June 2019.

Media: TV and Radio, Internet TV, 2014-2024

Research statement

I welcome PhD students wishing to work with audio interview archives, Andy Warhol, Women in Photography and Contemporary art. I am particularly interested in the authenticity of the artist’s interview.

Research supervision

Current UCA research students:

  • Dee Honeybun
  • Maxine Chester
  • Cindy Hong
  • Zhongjing Jiang
  • Lizzie Ransom
  • Camille Serisier
  • Jiayi Wong 

Completed UCA research students:

  • Richard Couzins
  • Rossella Emmanuelle
  • Matt Johnson
  • Liv Pennington
  • Marie Therese Shortt
  • Erin Solomons
  • David Summerill
  • Manuel Vason 
  • CiOJ: (Chartered Institute of Journalists).
  • 1985 to date: Freeman of the City of London (admitted 1985).
  • 2010-to date :Consultant Future City.
  • 2022-to date Board Member Bermondsey Project Space.
  • 2010-to date Selector Prix Pictet Prize. 
  • London Metropolitan University (2017)
  • Kingston University (2021)
  • Winner of IVCA award for the Art Newspaper TV
  • Freeman of the City of London 

Works in International Collections

  • Muzeum Sztuki Nowoczesnej w Warszawi. Pańska 3. Interview transcript and sound CV to accompany the acquisition of Eichmann and the Angel (2005) by Gustav Metzger
  • Royal Academy of Arts, London.  Bryan Kneale RA.  (Radio documentary).  Pilot for series commissioned by the Royal Academy Mar 2011.  Conceived by Jean Wainwright; Interviewer/presenter Jean Wainwright; Co-produced with Rhys Davies
  • Tate Gallery. London Audio Arts Archive. Acquired by Tate 2006. 177 interviews by Jean Wainwright online http://www.tate.org.uk/
Professor Jean Wainwright

Research outputs

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Find links to all Professor Jean's research outputs and activities available at UCA's online research portal UCARO