User:Justin Kirby/Julian Spalding

Julian Spalding (born 15 June 1947) is a British art critic, writer, broadcaster and former curator. Considered to be a controverial maverick and outspoken critic of the artworld, he's been a regulator contributor to arts, news and current affairs programmes on radio and TV.

Spalding grew up on a council estate in St Mary Cray, South London. His upbringing there played an important part in shaping his subsequent outlook, particularly with regard to understanding how social inequality and cultural deprivation has a negative impact on people’s lives.

He studied art history at Nottingham University and art at Nottingham Art College, and after a brief spell as an artist and designer he chose to work in museums and galleries. Spalding started as an art assistant at museums in Leicester and Durham before becoming director of galleries for Sheffield, and then Manchester. In 1989 he was appointed director of Glasgow Museums, responsible for the largest collection managed by a local authority and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the most visited museum outside London.

During his career as a curator he established several award-winning, innovative galleries and museum services, including: the Ruskin Gallery in Sheffield; the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art and The Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) in Glasgow; and the Open Museum. In 2000, he also instigated the now international Campaign for Drawing.

In 1999 he was awarded the Lord Provost's Prize for Services to the Visual Arts in Glasgow for his directorship of Glasgow Art Galleries and Museums, although his curatorial career was cut short the same year when his post along with others was abolished by Glasgow City Council. Spalding subsequently spoke Internationally and advised museums and galleries about new and innovative approaches, which was later outlined as what he describes as a practical philosophy in his 2002 book The Poetic Museum.

Since 2001 he has concentrated chiefly on his writing, winning the Banister Fletcher Prize in 2006 for his book The Art of Wonder.