Adrian Locke appointed Professor of Practice in the School of Arts

Former chief curator of the Royal Academy of Arts, Dr Adrian Locke, joins the School of Arts as a Professor of Practice. Over the three years of the appointment, he will share his expertise with SOAS students, staff and communities.

SOAS’s newest Professor of Practice, Adrian Locke, has a quarter of a century of curatorial experience at one of the world’s most celebrated art institutions, the Royal Academy of Arts, where he was chief curator. 

Bilingual in English and Portuguese, having grown up and having family ties between the UK and Brazil, Adrian has worked with some of the world’s most acclaimed artists and in areas of the arts directly related to SOAS’s mission – from the Americas all around the world to Japan and Oceania.

His list of shows curated since 2002 is stellar, including Aztecs, Turks, Chola: Sacred Bronzes of Southern India, Byzantium, Kuniyoshi, Anish Kapoor, Mexico: A Revolution in Art, 1910-1940, Radical Geometry: Modern Art of South America, Ai Weiwei, Oceania, William Kentridge, Kyosai, Spain and the Hispanic World, Brasil! Brasil! and most recently, Kerry James Marshall. 

He has also played a core role in the conception and development of an exhibition on the arts of the Mongol world, co-curated by SOAS’s Shane McCausland together with Sussan Babaie (Courtauld Institute of Arts).

As a Professor of Practice, Adrian’s extensive curatorial experience comes to SOAS for the benefit of our communities, academics and students. In addition to participating in public-facing events, he is expected to give masterclasses and seminars in curating and offer careers advice to our students on roles and career paths in the art world.

Image: Adrian Locke, SOAS Professor of Practice in the School of Arts