Biography

Leonie Bradbury is the Foster Chair of Contemporary Art Theory and Practice and Curator-in-Residence at Emerson College in Boston. An authority on both the creative and scholarly aspects of contemporary art, Dr. Bradbury has more than 15 years of experience in public programming, developing new work, creating compelling and innovative exhibitions, and promoting artists as thought leaders.

Most recently, she served as the Director of Art and Creative Initiatives at HUBweek, an innovation festival showcasing intersections of art, science, and technology. In this role, she managed two large outdoor exhibitions, developed a robust performing arts program, collaborated with artists and art organizations, and bolstered regional and international connections to promote opportunities for partnership.

Previously, Dr. Bradbury served as the Director and Curator of the Galleries at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA, a role she held for eleven years. She also taught critical and professional practices as part of their senior fine art capstone experience, as well as several business of art classes.

She is an experienced conference organizer and public speaker, lending her talents to the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries, College Art Association, New England Museum Association, and Light House Adventures in Seoul, South Korea. Dr. Bradbury holds a BA in the history of art from the University of Minnesota and a MA in the history of art: 20th century art, theory, and criticism from Boston University. In 2018 she received a Ph.D. in philosophy, aesthetics, and art theory from the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts in Maine.

Her curatorial programming has a strong socially engaged focus and includes exhibition projects, both solo and group, that feature a range of emerging and established artists of national and international note. Two of her exhibitions have received awards from the Association of International Art Critics (AICA) A New Order: Appropriation Art in the Digital Age (2nd Place, 2006) and Electric Wasteland: Urban Art from L.A. (1st Place, 2008). She has produced numerous essays, catalogues, and texts.

Publications include: “Franklin Evans: A Moment of Complexity” in Franklin Evans: Juddrules, by Montserrat College of Art (2015), and “Infinite Reflection” in Kelsey Brookes: Psychedelic Space, by Ginko Press (2015).