Jade Foster

Public Programme Curator

Jade Foster is a British cultural polymath: curator, art historian, artist and cultural strategist of Afro-Caribbean heritage living in Yarm, North Yorkshire, and born in Sandwell. Foster holds positions as a Trustee / Board Member of Nottingham Contemporary and Public Programme Curator at Primary. In their current role, they lead the development of Studio A4, an artist development residency programme; exhibitions; and digital commissions, focusing on brokering international collaborations, most notably, curating Human Life in Motion in 2025 and Imagining Otherwise in 2024, featuring artists Ashley Holmes, Turner Prize 2024 winner Jasleen Kaur, and Jala Wahid.

Jade has a history of working on experimental creative programmes with artists who explore pressing social issues. Through collaboration, they have developed research, residencies, curated exhibitions, and public programmes with different organisations such as Peer Gallery and Arts Catalyst; DASH; Harewood House; Hospital Rooms; Derby QUAD/FORMAT International Photography Festival; Derby Museums; New Art Exchange; UK New Artists (formerly UKYA); Gillian Jason Gallery; Two Queens; and the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) in Glasgow.

As an artist, recent exhibitions include Wallpaper, TG (2023); Portals, Eastside Projects (2021); CONVENTION #1: Sounding Gender - In Search of the Sonic Self, Aarhus, Denmark; Stand Up!, Artcore Gallery, Derby (2018); If we are going to heal, let it be glorious, The Royal Standard, Liverpool (2017).

They have been on selection panels for initiatives such as Off-Centre, NAE Open 2019, and the Cavendish Arts Science Fellowship 2023. As part of Jade’s interest in learning, they deliver lectures at universities such as Sheffield Hallam University, Coventry University, the University of Lincoln, Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Northampton, Manchester Metropolitan University, and Chelsea College of Art, UAL. Jade was a 2021 CCCADI Curatorial Fellow in Afro-Caribbean Art, working alongside colleagues from the USA, Bahamas, Barbados, and Zimbabwe.

Public scholarship and public speaking became pivotal practices within their career. They have been a speaker at the Tate Britain (Time Will Tell: Future Museum and Contested Objects, 2024), the BAN Conference (Curatorial Reimaginings, 2024), and the V&A (It’s all about handing over power, Art Fund and Black Curatorial, 2022), Clore Leadership and the Cultural Governance Alliance (CGA) via Midlands Arts Centre (Governance Now, 2022/23), ACAVA (ACAVA Talks), Wolverhampton Art Gallery (Collectivism, Community and Collaboration, alongside Bolanle Tajudeen - founder of Black Blossoms Online, Blk Art Research Group Project, 2023), Live Art Development Agency and performingbordersLIVE2020 (There is (No) Time, 2020).

Their writing has been featured in publications such as ArtReview, Art Monthly, and Corridor8, and they have written the introductory text for Maia Ruth Lee’s first major monograph, Bondadge Baggage (Radius Books).

Jade completed an MA in History of Art at UCL, where they were the recipient of the Fer-Garb Scholarship 2022/23. With the aspiration to become a successful leader and businessperson, in January 2025, they will begin an MBA in Cultural and Creative Leadership via the Senior Leader Apprenticeship route at Teesside University. After the course, they will pursue Chartered Manager status with the CMI.