Victoria Kent Gray
Victoria Gray (PhD) is an artist and practice-led researcher, and has presented work nationally and internationally throughout the UK, Europe, USA and Canada. With an initial conservatoire training in dance and somatic practice (1998 - 2004), and a PhD in philosophy, her primary medium and material is the body.
Recent presentations include; FADO Performance Art Centre (Toronto, Canada), VIVA Art Action (Montréal, Canada), 5th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art (Greece), The Tetley Centre for Contemporary Art (Leeds), Yorkshire Sculpture Park (Wakefield), Baltic 39 (Newcastle Upon Tyne), Royal Museums Greenwich (London), Siobhan Davies Studios (London), 8th Biennial of Photography (Poznan, Poland), Grace Exhibition Space (New York), and Centre de Cultura de Dones Francesca Bonnemaison (Barcelona).
She holds a PhD in Fine Art, awarded by Chelsea College of Art and Design, University of the Arts, London (2017), with a thesis titled, 'Towards a Kinesthetic Universe: Somatic methodologies for analysing affective experience.' This research integrated affect studies, process philosophy, political theory and somatic practices to understand preconscious experience as a cellular, trans-generational consciousness.
Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and edited books in the fields of performance, affect theory and choreography, including articles in; The Drama Review (MIT Press, 2015); Choreographic Practices (Intellect, 2013) and Journal of Dance & Somatic Practice (Intellect, 2012; 2017) and chapters in Experiencing Liveness in Contemporary Performance (Routledge, 2016) and Kinesthetic Empathy in Creative & Cultural Practices (Intellect, 2012).
Her research has been presented at conferences, including; PSi #19 Now Then: Performance & Temporality, Stanford University California, USA; TaPRA, Embodied Engagement: Participatory And Immersive Performance, The University of Glasgow & The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, UK; Sound :: Gender :: Feminism :: Activism Conference, Centre for Research into Sound Arts Practice, London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London.
Since 2004, she has taught in Further and Higher Education contexts, including as Senior Lecturer in Performance at York St John University (2007-2013), and continues to deliver on BA, MA and PhD programmes in arts-based subjects. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).
Currently, she is an Autism Spectrum Condition Specialist, working in FE and HE contexts, as a Mentor and Study Skills practitioner for BA, MA and PhD candidates. This aligns with her current artistic research in the field of autistic perception, sensory sensitivity in autism and its relation to creative practice and philosophy.
Practice includes:
Victoria Gray's work includes actions, interventions, time-based sculpture and video, being presented in museums, galleries and festivals in performance art, fine art and choreographic contexts.
Practice Statement
http://www.victoriagray.co.uk/about
Related research & practice areas:
expanded studio practices;
experimental pedagogies;
liminal states, interstices, and spacetime;
movement, dance, choreography;
new materialism, object-oriented ontology;
affect studies