The UK curatorial collective for PQ 2027 is inviting expressions of interest for additional members

This collective will be responsible for the UK’s contribution to the Prague Quadrennial, which will be curated and organised separately from (but in dialogue with) the National Exhibition. We have proposed a collective approach to the curation of the UK PQ exhibit for 2027, with non-hierarchical leadership and collaboration at the centre of the project, both operationally and conceptually. 

The starting point for the UK exhibit is the notion of a participatory, living and evolving time-based space that will be activated through invitations for design-initiated actions, micro-performances and fragments. This will not be a UK-wide retrospective exhibition, but a live space that investigates (through the participation of a diverse range of designers and practitioners) what it means to be a performance designer in 2027 and what performance design practice is and can do in the world today. 

Our current team represents a diverse range of backgrounds and lived experiences and we are committed to diversifying Performance Design practices. It’s important that the team represents a wide range of identities within UK design, and we particularly welcome expressions of interest from Global Majority designers. Previous curatorial experience isn’t necessary. You must be an SBTD, ALPD, or ASDP member, or commit to signing up for membership upon appointment to the team. This is currently a voluntary position, however funding will be part of the process and supporting the participation of freelance designers will be a key priority. 

Current collective members: Nic Farr, Eleanor Field, E.M. Parry, Dana Pinto, Kathy Sandys, David Shearing, Andreas Skourtis, Lucy Thornett, Emma Tompkins.

Key dates

Deadline for EOIs to join the collective: 7th April 2026

Initial PQ concept development: April 2026

Initial concept proposal submitted to PQ: 30th April 2026

PQ dates: 7-17 June 2027

Please send a one-page maximum EOI to pq27@sbtd.org.uk – introducing yourself and your practice, and outlining your interest and suitability for joining the collective. 

Selection will be made by the existing collective. Our aim is to appoint dynamic and creative designers who are keen to take an expansive and innovative view of what might be possible as part of the national exhibit, and ask questions of our discipline, sector and ourselves. Our priority is to include perspectives and lived experiences not already represented by the collective. 

A separate call-out will go out to members interested in contributing their work to the space through design-initiated actions, micro-performances, and fragments at a later date.

More info about PQ is available here

Cover photo: Lucy Thornett