Kristian Day Curator Talk: The Playing Fields

Curator Kristian Day shares insights from his ongoing project Playing Fields, which seeks to build meaningful connections between regional art scenes across the UK. In a cultural landscape shaped by centralisation, funding precarity, and uneven visibility, Playing Fields asks how artists, curators, and organisations can reimagine networks of support — and how we could build the art world you want, while navigating the art world we’ve inherited. 

Drawing on 25 years of curatorial practice and collaborations with galleries and independent initiatives nationwide, Day will reflect on the challenges of working regionally, the potential of peer-to-peer exchange, and the role of curators as advocates and facilitators. The talk invites audiences to think critically and constructively about the ecosystems we inhabit, and the alternatives we can create together.  

Kristian Day is a curator and producer, born and raised in Hull before moving to London where he worked with numerous galleries and organisations. For the past decade he has worked independently with galleries, studios, institutions and project spaces across the UK, developing exhibitions and programmes that support artists and strengthen regional networks. He is currently Director, Curator, and Programmer of Haarlem Gallery and Studios in Wirksworth, Derbyshire.