Dr Nicholas Cullinan was appointed Director of the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) on 6 January 2015, a post he took up that year in the spring.
Previously Curator of International Modern Art at Tate Modern (2007-2013), he worked on exhibitions such as Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs (2014), Malevich (2014), Edvard Munch: The Modern Eye (2012), Tacita Dean: FILM (2011), Duchamp, Man Ray, Picabia (2008) and Cy Twombly: Cycles and Seasons (2008). While at Tate, Dr Cullinan also worked on acquisitions and collection displays, founded a committee for Russian and Eastern Europe art and was involved with many aspects of the second phase of the Tate Modern project, for which the new building, The Switch House, designed by Herzog & De Meuron, was opened earlier this year.
The lecture by Dr Nicholas Cullinan is part of a dynamic series involving museum directors from the UK and abroad, and is aiming to spark a lively exchange on the issues facing museums, and those who lead them; the series has been organised by Martin Caiger-Smith, Head of MA Curating, and Professor Deborah Swallow, Director of The Courtauld.
Dr Cullinan will be in conversation with Martin Caiger-Smith and address issues such as: How does a Gallery founded in a Victorian Age of Empire, to celebrate the achievements of the great and good of the nation, move forward with the times? How does it maintain a balance between history and art, past and future, a national remit and an international outlook? Highlighting the connections between our past and the nation we are becoming, Nicholas Cullinan argues that ‘at a time when identity, shared culture and civic values are increasingly relevant to us all, the National Portrait Gallery is uniquely placed to generate a discussion by reflecting on our common artistic, cultural and social history - in short what binds us together.’