Lesley Taker Email & Phone Number

Liverpool, Gb

Liverpool, England, United Kingdom

Once the Studio/Lab space was set up, I reduced my hours to part-time to be able to also focus on other projects. In my FACT role, I manage a small team to deliver a brand new space and strand of programming, Studio/Lab. Studio/Lab embodies FACT’s commitment to nurturing emerging talent and fostering creativity in the North West; serving as a hub for local and regional artists to connect, collaborate, and experiment. Located on the building's top floor, it is a co-working space for creatives whose practice is critically engaged and digitally focused. Equipped with mid-to-high-end equipment, including new-generation technology and entry-level immersive kits, as well as digital production tools, Studio/Lab can support artists across various digital practices. Aligned with FACT’s area of work and ethos, we created the space for creatives whose work is both Critical & Digital.In this 3-day a week role I focus on strategic working, fundraising, as well as creating local, national and international partnerships and exchanges. I oversee two staff members, one focusing on the artistic community and the other handles the technical provision of the space. I also curate the Artist Development and Members programme and represent Studio/Lab and FACT at talks, panels and through invited mentoring sessions with artists or other organisations.

Liverpool, England, United Kingdom

I moved away from Exhibition-making and curatorial practice within FACT, to create a new space on the top floor of the building which would hold artist development and digital production at its heart. In this new role, I worked with the Executive team and Head of Development to secure significant funding from organisations such as Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Foyle Foundation. I oversaw relationships with an external project management company for the design, build and finish of the space, as well as speccing the technical equipment and future room use. I undertook extensive market and user research including conducting focus groups with various stakeholders and would-be-users to generate feedback and buy-in for the project. I recruited a small team to support the ongoing project and to help establish and hold the artist member community. The Studio/Lab team has initiated several international partnerships to support residencies, as well as secure local buy-in from arts and film organisations.

Liverpool, England, United Kingdom

Managing all exhibitions and events within the FACT artistic programme, as well as members of the Exhibitions team and co-developing the programme across the Programme Team, particularly from a curatorial perspective. Highlights during this time was curating a show about gaming and roleplay called Roleplay Reality (https://www.fact.co.uk/event/states-of-play-roleplay-reality) and a lab-focused project called Designing Desire (https://www.fact.co.uk/event/designing-desire), as well as working to revive the Residencies programme and how it feeds into Exhibition production, for example, the new FACT Together initiative (https://www.fact.co.uk/event/fact-together-2022). Some artists highlights in this time include working with Agnes Varda for her first-ever gallery exhibition, ambitious group show Let the Song Hold Us (https://www.fact.co.uk/event/let-the-song-hold-us) and establishing longer-term production relationships with artists such as Rae-Yen Song and Uma Breakdown.

Liverpool, United Kingdom

Producer / Curator at FACT. Responsible for exhibitions, public programmes and artistic residency programmes. Involved in projects with major gallery and production partners. Specialising in the development of new commissions and site-specific co-productions with a range of artists and partners, to be presented at FACT and worldwide. Curatorial projects included Designing Desire, Follow, States of Play: Roleplay Reality, and the co-production and co-ordination of major solo exhibitions (including large-scale new works) by artists Wu Tsang, Ryoichi Kurokawa, Shona Illingworth, and the curation and management of a retrospective of father-son duo, Brown & Son.

Programme development, ordination and delivery across all exhibitions, pop-ups and events. Events Programming. Development of new commissions and artist practice. Curatorial research and consultation internally and for external partners. Project management on internal and external iterations, including several EU projects. Budgeting and logistics. Artist liaison. International travel and representation for conferences and workshops with partners. Exhibition design ordination. Curatorial writing and art criticism internally, for various websites and for catalogues attached to international exhibitions. Provision of curatorial expertise for external projects and events. Participation in international symposia and workshops on the subject of curation, digital art, creative technology, feminist issues within the creative sector.

Programme assistance. Development of curatorial writing and interpretation material. Project management. Film programme delivery and research. Supporting new commissions. Developing local programming.

Liverpool, United Kingdom

Invigilation. Workshop delivery. Customer service. Front of House support and maintenance. Interpretation. Visitor surveying. Data collection and analysis.

Liverpool, England, United Kingdom

I work as a freelancer producer, curator, and artist mentor. I am currently focusing on providing access support to artists, particularly neurodivergent artists, who are trying to access funding, or need support in producing their projects. I have recently supported successful DYCP applications, paid directly by Arts Council England, and am currently working in the role of supporting producer for one successful DYCP grant project. I am also providing mentoring sessions for artist who are interested in Digital Art, new media and games as art, as well as more generalised access support for artists through the DWP Access to Work scheme.

Liverpool, England, United Kingdom

As part of Bloomberg's Digital Accelerator Programme (https://digitalaccelerator.bloomberg.org/) I was named the Tech Fellow for FACT Liverpool for 2 years to deliver an ambiitous project to increase the digital infrastucture and ability of the organisation. This included specific mentoring sessions with industry professionals, workshops and meet ups with other members of the Fellowship Programme. The final outcome was the new project for FACT, Studio/Lab, which launched April 2024. https://cdn.fact.co.uk/uploads/documents/StudioLab-Artist-Membership-Pack-Web.pdf?v=1719317510

Liverpool, United Kingdom

Writing journalistic and scholarly articles as well as a variety of reviews for print and online publications, e-journals, essay collections and web spaces. Including: a-n news, welcometosync.com, the Bluecoat and FACT's websites, The Double Negative, Oxford University Journal, and several feminist publications on the matter of the female body and abjection in Contemporary Art and literature. I have recently written pieces for various exhibition publications, including the major volume "Typemotion: Type as Image in Motion" (Hatje Cantz, 2015). I also copy-edit and proofread various academic and research texts, most recently the collection of essays "What Urban Media Art Can Do: Why When Where and How?" (avedition, 2016). I continue to write fiction alongside curatorial interpretation, essays, and art criticism.

Liverpool, United Kingdom

Invigilation. Data collection, analysis and entry. Reception and office management tasks. Internal and eternal communications. Interpretation. Curatorial research. Production of supporting gallery materials. Visitor services. Operations services with key-holder status. Duty Management. Customer Service and Box Office Management. Volunteer co-ordination.

Master Of Arts (Ma), Contemporary Fiction And Visual Arts, Distinction

Activities and Societies: Recipient of the John Lennon Memorial prizeMy final thesis was a feminist reading of the paintings of Jenny.

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), English Language And Literature, Distinction

Activities and Societies: Electives in Philosophy Recipient of a scholarship towards my MA programme resulting from high.

Bachelor'S Degree (One Year Only), Philosophy / Literature

Philosophy and literature. Electives in predicate logic and Classics.