about
Kelly Rappleye is a curator, programmer and PhD researcher working across visual arts, moving images, social histories, and critical architecture. Currently, she is a curator with 16NSt curatorial collective in Glasgow. Her curatorial practice explores collective methods of arts-led research and urban spatial inquiry, informed by her previous roles in community mental health. Kelly has curated exhibitions, workshops and talks, programmed film screening events and academic seminars, and facilitated participatory workshops in London and Glasgow.
Kelly was awarded the AHRC-SGSAH DTP studentship in 2022 with Glasgow School of Art, where she is developing curatorial research methods to examine the interrelations between contemporary moving image art, film archives, and contested histories in urban landscapes. She has presented her research at multiple conferences, and had writing published in various arts and academic publications. Previously, Kelly has worked in arts editing and digital marketing with Artillery art magazine, and completed an MA in Contemporary Art Theory with Goldsmiths, UOL.
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Kelly was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and completed her BA at San Francisco State University. Her professional background working in community mental health care in San Francisco informs a critical analysis of urban space, pathology and dispossession in her research and curatorial practice. Her curatorial practice is interested in caring, convivial and slow spatial practices that can connect people with their lived environments to recognise power structure, social agency, and solidarities across social groups.
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Kelly has led communications strategy and digital project management for various creative organisations including Artillery magazine in Los Angeles, and 16 Nicholson Street gallery in Glasgow, where she now supports the non-profit's contemporary arts exhibitions, talks, and community programmes.
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Her arts writing ranges from creative fiction to academic scholarship, and she is available for copyediting, proofreading, and research development.
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