Noted art curator honoured

She received her honorary degree during the University’s summer graduation ceremony at the Brighton Dome on 25 July. She was presented by Professor Catherine Moriarty, Curatorial Director of the University of Brighton Design Archives.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Angela Weight said: “Unless they are also directors or have an international reputation, curators do not generally expect to receive public or academic recognition, so it was with great surprise and pleasure that I accepted the University of Brighton’s proposal of an Honorary Doctorate.

“I have been hugely fortunate in my career to have worked with some great colleagues and mentors. I would encourage all those students graduating today to look out for such people. They may not be perfect, they may not be a close personal friend, but if you can hold them in your heart as a model of integrity and professional excellence, you will have a benchmark for life.”

Angela Weight

Angela Weight began her curatorial career at Aberdeen Art Gallery in the 1970s before returning to London to take up a post in the Department of Art at the Imperial War Museum. As Keeper of Art until 2005, she was responsible for establishing an exhibition programme that highlighted the wartime careers of artists such as Richard Eurich, Carel Weight, Paul Nash, John Piper, Eric Ravilious, CRW Nevinson and Sir William Orpen, as well as building new audiences through acquisitions and displays of contemporary art and photography. 

She served on the Museum’s Art Commissions Committee for over 20 years and has worked with renowned artists Bill Woodrow, Graham Fagen, Langlands & Bell, Steve McQueen, Paul Seawright, William Furlong and Jananne Al-Ani among many others. Now an independent curator and writer, she has a special interest in Modern British art and contemporary Middle Eastern art and photography.