Director of Exhibitions at Somerset House
Dr Cliff Lauson is currently Director of Exhibitions at Somerset House, London, overseeing the exhibitions and commissions programme. He has personally curated commissions by international artists such as Hylozoic/Desires, Jitish Kallat, Zheng Bo, Amba Sayal-Bennett and Theresa Weber. Last year, he curated the major exhibition Wayne McGregor: Infinite Bodies with the internationally renowned choreographer, and is currently preparing a group exhibition of work by Sámi artists for late 2026.
Until 2022, Cliff was Senior Curator at the Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, having organised major exhibitions of work by Matthew Barney, Bridget Riley, Martin Creed, Ernesto Neto, Tracey Emin and David Shrigley, as well as the critically acclaimed group exhibitions Strange Clay, Light Show and Space Shifters. Independently, he recently curated Rana Begum: Dappled Light at Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Centre, which toured internationally. Cliff has held previous positions at Tate Modern and the UBC Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver. He currently serves on the steering group for the Art Fund Curatorial Diversity Programme, is a former trustee of Film and Video Umbrella, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.