Sarah E. James

I am an art historian and art writer. My research specialisms and interests include contemporary art and politics, photography, and the visual cultures of the Cold War. I’ve written two monographs - 'Common Ground' ((Yale University Press, 2013), and 'Paper Revolutions: An Invisible Avant-Garde' (The MIT Press, 2022) - and have published numerous book chapters, peer-reviewed articles and exhibition catalogue essays. Since 2004 I've written more than 90 feature essays and exhibition reviews in the international art press (writing regularly for Art Monthly, and previously for Frieze, Photoworks, Art Review and Aperture). These texts have focused on contemporary art, photographic practices and exhibition-making, situating them in relation to broader political, cultural, institutional and pedagogical contexts and debates. I have also worked as a research-led curator and was Senior Curator of Exhibitions at Tate Liverpool (2022-2023), where I curated the 2022 Turner Prize, and led the curatorial team in delivering the exhibitions and collection displays and in devising future programming.