Professor Sarah James

Professor of Visual Culture

I am an art historian, researcher, art writer and curator. My research specialisms are contemporary art, photography, the visual cultures of the Cold War, German art, particularly East German art and the German interwar avant-garde. For the last twenty years I have worked as an academic researching and teaching in the fields of contemporary art and visual culture at LJMU (2022-2023), University College London (2010-2018), University of Oxford (2008-2010), and as a visiting tutor and fellow at the Ruskin School of Art, Oxford (2004-2007); the Courtauld Institute of Art (2002-2007); Cambridge University; the Goethe Universität Frankfurt; the Kunstgeschichte Institut Leipzig Universität, and the Humboldt Universität, Berlin.

I have written two monographs: 'Common Ground: German Photographic Cultures Across the Iron Curtain' (Yale University Press, 2013), and 'Paper Revolutions: An Invisible Avant-Garde' (the MIT Press, 2022). I have published numerous book chapters, peer-reviewed articles, exhibition catalogues and essays. Alongside this, I've published over 90 essays and reviews on contemporary art in the international art press. My research and writing have been recognised by major grants and fellowships from international funding bodies including the AHRC, British Academy, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Gerda Henkel Foundation, and the Paul Mellon Centre.

I regularly deliver public lectures and talks on my research at museums and galleries, including The Whitechapel Art Gallery, London; Tate Modern, London; The Photographers’ Gallery, London; The MoMA, New York; Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art; The Kupferstich-Kabinett, Dresden, and the Albertinum, Dresden. I have been invited to give papers on my work at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, York, Sussex, Nottingham, Leicester de Montfort, Newcastle, University of Colorado Boulder, Rutgers, the Courtauld Institute, the Institut für Kunstgeschichte, Universität Leipzig, and the Freie Universität Berlin.

I have worked as an independent research curator on many projects, and was most recently Senior Curator of Exhibitions at Tate Liverpool (2022-2023), where I curated The Turner Prize, 2022, and led the curatorial team in delivering the special exhibitions and collection displays and in devising future programming. Over the last decade, I have collaborated on curatorial and research projects with many institutions in the UK, Germany and the USA, including HKW Berlin; the Photographers’ Gallery, London; the Science Museum, London; Reina Sofia Madrid, and The MoMA, New York. The majority of these projects have been embedded in a collective model of research. I recently co-curated a major international loans exhibition with Prof. Sara Blaylock (University of Minnesota, Duluth), titled 'Anti-Social Art' at the Tweed Museum, Minnesota in 2022. Like all my curatorial work, this exhibition was research-led and in this instance related to my most recent monograph, focusing on art and activism, ephemeral practices and artist zines, books and portfolios from the former East Germany. My curatorial work, like my art writing, is rooted in an interdisciplinary approach, which bridges historical and contemporary practice and research.

I received a B.A. in Social and Political Sciences and the History of Art from King’s College, the University of Cambridge in 2001. I was awarded my M.A. with distinction in Contemporary British Art in 2002, and my PhD in the History of Art in 2007, both from the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London.

I always welcome enquiries from potential PhD students - both practice-based and entirely research-focused. Potential research topics I would be particularly interested in supervising include: contemporary art; documentary and screen-based practices; ephemeral art practices, including mail art; German art; East German art and collectives; histories and theories of photography; histories of exhibition-making; Eastern European art; the visual cultures, politics and technologies of the Cold War, art and the climate emergency; Marxism and the Frankfurt School thinkers; the interwar avant-garde, and other topics that align with my research interests. Potential applicants should contact me directly to discuss your proposals.

Languages

German

Degrees

PhD, Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London, 2007.
MA (Dist), Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London, 2002.
BA Hons., University of Cambridge, 2001.

Academic appointments

Research Professorship, Gerda Henkel Foundation, 2020 - 2022
Mid-Career Fellowship, Paul Mellon Centre, 2019 - 2020
Senior Research Fellowship, Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, Goethe University Frankfurt, 2019 - 2020
Assoc Prof/Lecturer, University College London, 2010 - 2018
Lecturer, University of Oxford, 2008 - 2010
Director of Studies, Christ Church, History of Art, University of Oxford, 2008 - 2010
Postdoctoral Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung Research Fellowship, Art History, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 2007 - 2008
Visiting Lecturer/Tutor, Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford, 2004 - 2008