Dominic James Bilton

Profile

I am a practice-led Project Producer currently working at the Whitworth, Manchester. At the Whitworth my work is situated within the Civic Engagement and Education, where I work inter-departmentally on projects with the Curatorial department.  

My PhD project – in close collaboration with the Whitworth, investigates what it might mean to queer a museum. Using a practice-led action research methodology, the project will introduce queer interventions within gallery spaces through exhibitions, events, and performances. In doing so it will also – in dialogue with the innovative ‘constituent museum’ approach pioneered by Art Gallery Director Alistair Hudson – identify what queer theory’s non-normative approach to gender, sexuality and identity offers to current debates in participatory museology.

One of the research projects that I have developed at the Whitworth is called, (Un)Defining Queer.

(Un)Defining Queer is a participatory-led project that has been working with an intersectional group of people, who self-identify as LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or questioning, intersex and asexual) to help the Whitworth develop a glossary of queer terms. As part of the outcome of the project, I have been working on the exhibition that has develop from the project.  

I am also a co-lead of the Queer British Art Network, which is a research group that is part of the British Art Network (BAN). The network is supported by Tate and the Paul Mellon Centre. The British Art Network promotes curatorial research, practice, and theory in the field of British art.  With the development of the Queer British Art Network, we aim to nurture relationships between academics, curators, educators, and artists in supporting queer programming within institutions and to enhance understanding of the richness of queer British art.

I studied History of Art at Liverpool John Moores University before graduating from the University of Leeds with an MA in Art Gallery and Museum Studies. It was through studying at both institutions that I developed my research interest in queer museum practice. However, it was through my MA at the University of Leeds that I started to develop my research interest in queer engagement practices. 

I am a part of the Centre for Critical Studies in Museums, Galleries and Heritage, which facilitates discussions on topics relate to issues that are affecting the heritage sector more broadly. 

Research interests

• Queer British Art Network
• Constituent Museum Practice
• Arte Útil
• Queering collections and its impact on inclusion
• LGBTQIA+ representation within Jewish museology
• The representation of queer memory and trauma within art history
• Queer working class culture

Qualifications

• MA Art Gallery and Museum Studies