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Programme

COMPASS: Emerging Curator Programme 2026 - 2027

1 Apr 2026 - 30 Apr 2027

Photography by Laura Prieto Martin

Curator Elizabeth Ann Day

 

Dundee-based programmer and arts organiser, Elizabeth Ann Day specialises in the utilisation of non-traditional settings for works of contemporary art and design. Day is a graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & and completed an Erasmus+ exchange with the University of Lapland, Finland. From 2018-20, Day served on the GENERATORprojects committee, where she first developed an interest in grassroots activity and its imperative role in sustaining and developing the careers of emerging practitioners. 

Responding to the limitations and accessibility of space for experimental working, Day launched Volk Gallery alongside frequent collaborator Luke Cassidy Greer in 2021. A repurposed vending machine, Volk shows a monthly exhibition in Dundee’s Keiller Centre. Day is also the editor of Windfall*, an infrequent arts publication and collaborative project providing critical and paid exposure for emerging contemporary artists, and looking at similar themes of representation and opportunity. 

Alongside these self-motivated positions, Day has held roles with a number of established organisations at the intersection of art and community including Edinburgh Art Festival, Art Night, V&A Dundee, and UNESCO City of Design Dundee, producers of Dundee Design Festival.

Photography by Grant Anderson

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Curator Kate Pickering

 

Kate Pickering is a craft practitioner, curator and cultural producer working across jewellery, community and contemporary craft in Scotland. Her practice has developed through over a decade of building and leading grassroots initiatives, where curation has taken many forms, from exhibitions and festivals to workshops, learning spaces and creative communities. 

In 2025, Kate made her curatorial debut with HAG: Knowledge, Power & Alchemy through Craft, bringing together leading Scotland-based makers to explore embodied knowledge and material practice. This marked a shift towards a more defined curatorial approach, building on years of shaping projects and platforms within the craft sector. 

Kate is particularly interested in revealing the processes behind making and challenging how craft is presented and valued. She is drawn to curatorial approaches that move beyond traditional display, creating space for conversation, learning and connection between makers and audiences. 

Photography by Lydia Smith

Curator Scott Smith

 

Scott Smith is an Aberdeen-based contemporary silversmith working from Deemouth Artist Studios. His practice explores the relationship between Scotland’s material culture and contemporary craft, drawing inspiration from Pictish carved stones, archaeological artefacts and the weathered textures of the North-East landscape. Through hand raising, hammering and surface carving, his work translates historic visual languages into functional and sculptural silver objects.

Scott graduated from The Glasgow School of Art and is a QEST Emerging Maker Scholar, a recipient of the Inches Carr Craft Development Award and a multiple Gold Award winner at the Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council.

Alongside his making practice, Scott is a Trustee of Visual Arts Scotland and actively supports and curates opportunities for contemporary craft in Scotland.

Photography by Duncan McGlynn

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Curator Laura Wilson

 

Connecting people with stories through objects is central to Laura Wilson’s practice. She is a ceramic designer, educator and curator based in Scotland, with over fifteen years’ experience across making, teaching, public engagement and community-based practice. Her work explores how materials, processes and acts of making carry narrative and meaning.

Alongside her studio practice, she has developed a socially engaged approach in gallery, museum and community contexts. She delivers workshops that help audiences engage with and interpret collections. She collaborates with groups across the lifespan to design inclusive creative programmes that emphasise participation, dialogue and shared experience. Her experience also spans exhibition planning, curation and installation.

Her curatorial practice is driven by a commitment to accessibility, engagement and the power of objects to connect people through shared stories.

Photography by 1500 Photography

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