# Kate Fowle

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{{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](/source/Kent), [England](/source/England)
| occupation       = Art curator and manager
| known_for        = Director of [MoMA PS1](/source/MoMA_PS1); Chief Curator of [Garage Museum of Contemporary Art](/source/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](/source/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](/source/MoMA_PS1) in [New York](/source/New_York_City), [United States](/source/United_States), the chief curator of the [Garage Museum of Contemporary Art](/source/Garage_Museum_of_Contemporary_Art) in [Moscow](/source/Moscow), [Russia](/source/Russia), and the executive director of [Independent Curators International](/source/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](/source/The_New_York_Times)}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Fowle was born in 1971 and raised in [England](/source/England). She originally trained as an artist, graduating in 1993. Shortly afterwards, she transitioned into curatorial work, beginning her career at the [Towner Eastbourne](/source/Towner_Eastbourne) and Museum, formerly Towner Art Gallery, in [Eastbourne](/source/Eastbourne), [East Sussex](/source/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](/source/London) an independent curatorial partnership that developed commission-based programming across the [United Kingdom](/source/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](/source/Artnet_News) |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== California College of the Arts and UCCA (2002–2008) ===
Fowle moved to the [United States of America](/source/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](/source/California_College_of_the_Arts) (CCA) in [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco), the first program of its kind on the [West Coast](/source/West_Coast_of_the_United_States). 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](/source/ArtReview)}}</ref> Following her tenure at CCA, she moved to [Beijing](/source/Beijing), [China](/source/China), to become the first international curator at the [Ullens Center for Contemporary Art](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Louise_Bourgeois), [John Baldessari](/source/John_Baldessari), and [Robert Longo](/source/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](/source/Klaus_Biesenbach) as the director of [MoMA PS1](/source/MoMA_PS1) in [Queens](/source/Queens), New York. During her tenure, she navigated the museum through the [COVID-19 pandemic](/source/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](/source/Kate_Capshaw) and [Steven Spielberg](/source/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](/source/Paris)/[San Francisco](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Koyo_Kouoh)
* [Tandazani Dlakama](/source/Tandazani_Dhlakama)
* [Cathleen Chaffee](/source/Cathleen_Chaffee)
* [Carol Yinghua Lu](/source/Carol_Yinghua_Lu)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

* [https://curatorsintl.org/collaborators/4343-kate-fowle Kate Fowle] at [Independent Curators International](/source/Independent_Curators_International)

{{Authority control}}

Category:Living people
Category:English curators
Category:English women curators
Category:Art curators
Category:Art curators by nationality
Category:1971 births

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kate Fowle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Fowle) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Fowle?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.
