Dr Lottie Whalen

Lottie is a Glasgow-based writer with a PhD in English Literature from Queen Mary University of London (her thesis explored the interdisciplinary modernism of artist, designer, and poet Mina Loy), and an MA in Modern and Contemporary Literature and Culture from the University of York. Her research interests include feminist perspectives on modern art, textile art, urban culture, and interrogating the boundary between fine art and craft. In 2023, Lottie published her first book Radicals and Rogues: the Women Who Made New York Modern, which tells the story of a group of women artists at the forefront of the city’s early twentieth-century modern art movement. Her research on women artists has appeared on Art UK and in various magazines and peer-reviewed journals.

Lottie also works as an independent curator, specialising in socially-engaged approaches to heritage and cultural history, and bringing together community groups with heritage institutions. She is the co-founder of Decorating Dissidence, a research-led, interdisciplinary art project that explores the socio-political, conceptual, and aesthetic impact of craft through the twentieth century to the present day. With Decorating Dissidence, she has curated exhibitions of textile art, ceramics, and performance art and led workshops, working with galleries and institutions, including V&A and Shonibare Studio. She produces and edits content for the Decorating Dissidence podcast and newsletter; in this capacity, she interviews leading contemporary artists, such as Turner Prize winner Lubaina Himid and Turner Prize nominee Delaine Le Bas. She is currently co-writing a book on modern craft.