{{Short description|English art curator (born 1971)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Kate Fowle | image = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = English | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1971|06|26|df=y}} | birth_place = Kent, England | occupation = Art curator and manager | known_for = Director of MoMA PS1; Chief Curator of Garage Museum of Contemporary Art | title = Director of the Arts Program at the Hearthland Foundation }}
'''Kate Fowle''' (born 26 June 1971) is an English curator, author, and arts administrator. She is currently the Director of the Arts Program at the Hearthland Foundation, which she joined in April 2025. Fowle has held several high-profile leadership roles in the international art world, including serving as the director of MoMA PS1 in New York, United States, the chief curator of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, Russia, and the executive director of Independent Curators International (ICI).<ref name="NYT2019">{{cite news |last1=Pogrebin |first1=Robin |date=27 June 2019 |title=MoMA PS1 Names Kate Fowle as Its New Director |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/arts/design/moma-ps1-kate-fowle-director.html |access-date=22 May 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>
== Early life and education == Fowle was born in 1971 and raised in England. She originally trained as an artist, graduating in 1993. Shortly afterwards, she transitioned into curatorial work, beginning her career at the Towner Eastbourne and Museum, formerly Towner Art Gallery, in Eastbourne, East Sussex, where she served as a curator from 1994 to 1996.<ref name="ICI Bio">{{cite web |title=Kate Fowle |url=https://curatorsintl.org/collaborators/kate-fowle |access-date=22 May 2024 |publisher=Independent Curators International}}</ref>
== Career ==
=== Early career and Smith + Fowle (1996–2002) === In 1996, Fowle co-founded Smith + Fowle in London an independent curatorial partnership that developed commission-based programming across the United Kingdom.<ref name="ArtnetBio">{{Cite web |date=13 June 2022 |title=Kate Fowle, the Well-Liked Director of MoMA PS1, Resigns Suddenly After Just Three Years in the Post |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/kate-fowle-resigns-moma-ps1-2129230 |first=Amah-Rose |last=Abrams |access-date=28 February 2026 |website=Artnet News |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== California College of the Arts and UCCA (2002–2008) === Fowle moved to the United States of America in 2001. In 2002, she co-founded the Master's Program in Curatorial Practice at the California College of the Arts (CCA) in San Francisco, the first program of its kind on the West Coast. She served as the program's chair until 2007.<ref name="ArtReview">{{cite news |date=13 June 2022 |title=Kate Fowle quits MoMA PS1 |url=https://artreview.com/kate-fowle-quits-moma-ps1/ |access-date=22 May 2024 |work=ArtReview}}</ref> Following her tenure at CCA, she moved to Beijing, China, to become the first international curator at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) from 2007 to 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kate Fowle |url=https://www.macp.sva.edu/kate-fowle |access-date=2026-02-28 |website=SVA CURATORIAL PRACTICE |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Autumn School of Curating with Kate Fowle - Announcements |url=https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/618119/autumn-school-of-curating-with-kate-fowle |access-date=2026-02-28 |website=e-flux |language=en}}</ref>
=== Independent Curators International (2009–2013) === From 2009 to 2013, Fowle served as the executive director of Independent Curators International (ICI) in New York.<ref>{{Cite web |title=July 2010, Interview with Kate Fowle of Independent Curators International |url=https://whitehotmagazine.com/articles/kate-fowle-independent-curators-international/2090 |access-date=2026-02-28 |website=Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art |interviewer=Michelle Jubin |language=en}}</ref> During her time there, she significantly expanded the organization's international reach and founded the Curatorial Intensive, the first short-term professional training program for curators.<ref name="ICI Bio" />
=== Garage Museum of Contemporary Art (2013–2019) === In 2013, Fowle was appointed the inaugural chief curator (and later artistic director) of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Head to Head: A conversation between Kate Fowle and Koyo Kouoh {{!}} Zeitz MOCAA |url=https://zeitzmocaa.museum/exhibition/head-to-head-a-conversation-between-kate-fowle-and-koyo-kouoh/|date=18 November 2019 |access-date=2026-02-28 |language=en-ZA}}</ref> She oversaw the development of its research, archive, and publishing departments and curated major exhibitions for artists such as Louise Bourgeois, John Baldessari, and Robert Longo.<ref name="Garage">{{cite press release |date=14 February 2013 |title=New Chief Curator for Garage |url=https://garagemca.org/en/news/2013-02-14-new-chief-curator-for-garage |access-date=22 May 2024 |publisher=Garage Museum of Contemporary Art}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kate Fowle |url=http://www.rawmaterialcompany.org/_2838 |access-date=2026-02-28 |website=www.rawmaterialcompany.org |language=en}}</ref>
=== MoMA PS1 and Hearthland Foundation (2019–present) === In 2019, Fowle succeeded Klaus Biesenbach as the director of MoMA PS1 in Queens, New York. During her tenure, she navigated the museum through the COVID-19 pandemic and curated the landmark exhibition ''Greater New York 2021''. She stepped down from the role in July 2022.<ref name="ArtnetBio" /><ref name="NYT2019" />
In April 2023, Fowle was appointed the Director of the Arts Program at the Hearthland Foundation, a philanthropic organization founded by Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Team {{!}} Kate Fowle |url=https://hearthlandfoundation.org/our-team?name=kate-fowle |access-date=15 April 2026 |publisher=Hearthland Foundation}}</ref>
== Boards and advisory roles == Fowle holds several advisory positions, including:
* Board Chair''':''' Center for Art & Advocacy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kate Fowle |url=https://www.fundamental-inc.com/kate-fowle |access-date=2026-02-28 |website=Fundamental |language=en-US}}</ref> * Board Member''':''' Artistic Noise.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Who we are |url=https://www.artisticnoise.org/about |access-date=2026-02-28 |website=Artistic Noise |language=en-US}}</ref> * Regional Advisor: Kadist Foundation (Paris/San Francisco).
== Select publications ==
* ''Exhibit Russia: The New International Decade 1986–1996'' (2016) <ref>{{Cite book |last=Berardini |first=Andrew |title=Danh Vo - relics |last2=Danh Vo |date=2015 |publisher=Mousse Publishing |others=Kurimanzutto |isbn=978-88-6749-141-4 |series=Air Mexico |location=Milan}}</ref> * ''Rashid Johnson: Within Our Gates'' (2016) <ref>{{Cite book |last=Nay |first=Ernst Wilhelm |title=Ernst Wilhelm Nay: 1964 |date=2016 |publisher=Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König |others=Galerie Aurel Scheibler |isbn=978-3-86335-967-6 |editor-last=Scheibler |editor-first=Aurel |location=Köln}}</ref> * ''Proof: Francisco Goya, Sergei Eisenstein, Robert Longo'' (2017) <ref>{{Cite book |title=Generation Loss - 10 years Julia Stoschek Collection |date=2017 |publisher=Kerber |isbn=978-3-7356-0384-5 |editor-last=Atkins |editor-first=Ed |series=Kerber art |location=Bielefeld |editor-last2=Pfau |editor-first2=Anna-Alexandra |editor-last3=Kerkmann |editor-first3=Monika |editor-last4=Stoschek |editor-first4=Julia |editor-last5=Weisser |editor-first5=Andreas |editor-last6=Julia Stoschek Foundation |editor-last7=Julia Stoschek Collection}}</ref>
== See also ==
* Koyo Kouoh * Tandazani Dlakama * Cathleen Chaffee * Carol Yinghua Lu
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://curatorsintl.org/collaborators/4343-kate-fowle Kate Fowle] at Independent Curators International
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Category:Living people Category:English curators Category:English women curators Category:Art curators Category:Art curators by nationality Category:1971 births