Nell Cardozo is a curator and producer based in Glasgow. Currently she is a curatorial director at 16 Nicholson Street Gallery, a DIY curatorial collaborative-led space with Aga Paulina Młyńczak. Since joining the collaborative in 2019 Cardozo has curated exhibitions, programmed events, led workshops and edited and written for publications. Previous to and concurrent with her position as director there, she works as Development and Engagement Officer at the Hippodrome Silent Film Festival, at the Scottish National Galleries as a Gallery Assistant and at the Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, curating GROWTH, an exhibition of youth artists. Cardozo graduated with an English Literature MA and a Museum Studies MSc at Glasgow University, where her thesis focused on investigating accessibility in online databases, with an internship at Art UK. She has also taught and led accessible activities connecting communities with art in Glasgow and Albany, NY. Her curatorial interest lies in queer bodies, entropy, and their position within the potentiality of alternative economies.

CV

COMMUNITY OUTREACH:

OCTOBER 2022 - PRES: ENGAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, Hippodrome Silent Film Festival

MARCH 2021 – JULY 2022: 'FREEDOM IN ABSTRACTION, POWER IN CREATIVTY' – in partnership with Empower Women for Change and Beth Shapeero – Project Manager/Curator

APRIL 2022: 'ARTISTS FOR UKRAINE' Charity Auction in aid of Czasoprzestrzeń Cultural Centre – Organiser

CURATORIAL:

AUG 2023: 'RUPTURE,RAPTURE: WOMXN IN COLLAGE' Residency, publication and exhibition project – Sam Ainsley, Edie Baker, Claire Barclay, Comfort, Jen DeNike, Kat Cutler-MacKenzie, Louise Hopkins, Hannan Jones, Barbara Kendrick, Gabrielle Lockwood Estrin, Zoë Mendelson, Victoria Morton, Janie Nicoll, Kate V Robertson, Catherine Street, Maud Sulter, Alberta Whittle – 16NSt at Patricia Fleming Gallery – Co-Curator and Publication Editor.

NOVEMBER 2022:'FINDING DISRUPTIVE MODELS OF CURATING' – Guest Lecturer, Sotheby's Institute of Art

JULY 2022: 'TO STAND IN THE FULL SUN'– Empower Women for Change, Beth Shapeero – Curator

MARCH 2022:'REPARATIVE TRESSPASSING' Book Launch, Panel Discussion and Film Screening – at Wasps South Block – Event Curator

AUGUST 2021: 'TEACH ME A WORD YOU'RE AFRAID TO FORGET' – Aga Paulina Młyńczak – Curated by Jamie Dyer at KIOSK – Guest Writer

MAY 2021: ‘FLOCK CIRCUMSTANCE‘ – Aga Paulina Młyńczak, Tinja Ruusuvuori, Madde Edlund – at 16 Nicholson Street – Assistant Curator

MARCH 2021: ‘AIR DIVING’ – Matthew Rimmer – at 16 Nicholson Street – Curator

MARCH 2020: ‘TOURING PERMUTATIONS’ – Michella Perera, at 16 Nicholson Street – Curator & Events Coordinator

FEB 2020: ‘GROWTH’ – Youth Exhibition featuring Samuel Temple, PJ Harper, Christina Kyriakidou, Gemma Kerr, Matthew Rimmer, Emma Gillanders, – at GoMA Glasgow – Curator

OCTOBER 2019: ‘OPERATION FLOWER’ – Gillies Adamson Semple – at 16 Nicholson Street – Curator

JUNE 2019: ‘SCHEMATIC’ SUMMER RESIDENCY – Holly Osborne, Josie Lee, Kieran Muir – at 16 Nicholson Street – Events Coordinator

MAY 2019: ‘ESSENTIAL BODY’ SPRING RESIDENCY – Zolatrope, Hayley Jane Dawson – at 16 Nicholson Street – Curatorial Assistant

APRIL 2019: ‘OBSERVE’ – Temjai Cholsiri – at 16 Nicholson Street – Curatorial Assistant

JANUARY 2019: ‘DEPENDENCY’ – James St. Findlay – at 16 Nicholson Street – Curatorial Assistant

MAY 2017: ‘TRADE AND THE EERIE CANAL’ – at the Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany N.Y. – Curatorial Assistant


EMPLOYMENT:

Curatorial Director, 16 Nicholson Street Gallery, Glasgow
January 2019 – Present

I am one of three self-employed directors that curates for artist’s exhibitions at the contemporary art gallery. The work we do encompasses all aspects of running the space, from curatorial to practical. I have taken the lead on curating several exhibitions and developed an accompanying programme for these, including editing publications and arranging the outreach programme. The exhibition programme focuses on connecting the Scottish art community with international artists and diverse communities living in Glasgow through a series of residencies, exhibitions and events.

Engagement and Development Officer, Hippodrome Silent Film Festival
October 2022 – Present

Guest Curator, Art Connects, Berlin
August – September 2022

I have been invited as guest curator to judge the Art Connects monthly competition for emerging artists.

Curator, GoMA Youth Programme, Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow
March 2019 – March 2020

I worked freelance as part of a small group who developed a programme of exhibitions, events and educational activities related to the collection at the Gallery of Modern Art. This culminated in an exhibition in February in Gallery One entitled GROWTH that invited youth artists to respond to the theme of growth, which resulted in works relating to resilience to traditional paths and recalibrating our relationship to the environment.

Assistant Curator, the Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany USA
August 2016-May 2017

Engaging local residents in specifically local history of Albany and the Hudson Valley area. I developed and oversaw educational programmes for local primary school visiting days. I worked with the collections to identify which materials would be suitable to base educational programmes around and successfully created collections-based workshops and challenges for the school groups. I undertook research leading to an exhibition about the local Eerie Canal and its historic uses.

OTHER SECTOR EXPERIENCE:

Freelance Archivist, Art360 Foundation
July 2019 – Present

My role working freelance for the charity Art360 Foundation involves working one on one with artists and artists estates in Scotland. I provide a service to help them document and archive their work. Each artist requires highly personalised work, and my job is to tailor to their needs. I am responsible for building digital and physical archives and inventories, and liaising closely with the artists at all points. The primary skills used in this position are communication, archiving and high computer literacy. It is important that I am familiar with archiving software systems and databases such as MIMSY, and comfortable working to convert and document a large range of formats amongst the archival material, from works on paper, to film photographs.

Documentation Assistant, Glasgow Museums / Art UK
May 2018-September 2018

Researching and documenting the sculpture in Glasgow Museums’ collection according to SPECTRUM documentation standards. This was part of a project in collaboration with Art UK, a nationwide initiative to digitise art collections and to create online, accessible labels to accompany these images. I was responsible for researching and writing these labels, as well as for cataloguing the sculptures.

Personal Archivist, Clare Henry, Art Critic
January 2018-May 2018

Researching, documenting and indexing the work of prolific art critic Clare Henry, formerly of the Glasgow Herald, currently working at the Financial Times, NY. My work involved handling archival material and digitising photographs and print articles from 1970 – present day into an online database, accessible at the Glasgow School of Art’s website.

Learning & Access Volunteer, Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow
November 2017-Present

I worked at their Saturday Arts Club, delivering community and visitor engagement through arts and crafts activities. I also volunteered at ‘Let’s Talk About Art , which aimed to get people talking about contemporary art and remove some of the intellectual and social barriers to the visual arts.

Learning Assistant, Junior Achievement Northeastern New York
August 2016-May 2017

Coordinated and delivered weekly classroom sessions to elementary school classes in areas of lower incomes throughout the city of Albany. Engaged with an ethnically diverse audience of young children and educated them in issues of work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial empowerment using storytelling and art.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

Member of the Association of Woman Art Dealers – 11/2020
‘Publications for Art’ course at the Node Centre for Curatorial Studies – 03/2021-04/2021
‘Protecting Artists’ Wellbeing Online’ workshop by Edinburgh Festivals – 01/2021
‘Future-proofing Museums For a Post COVID World’ conference by Museums Immersive Network – 01/2021

EDUCATION:

Msc Museum Studies, University of Glasgow, 2017-2018 – Graduated with Merit.
MA English Literature, University of Glasgow, 2012-2016 – Graduated with First Class Honours.