Peter Bonnell

DASH have just welcomed Peter to the team in January 2025 into the newly created role of Executive Director.

Peter was previously the Arts Programme Manager at QUAD and the Director of FORMAT International Photography Festival, where he led a team of curators and producers. With over twenty years in the professional visual arts sector, Peter has curated, managed and produced close to 200 exhibitions, commissions and touring projects. Prior to embarking on a career as a professional curator in 2004, Peter was, since the late 1990s, a practising visual artist and occasional lecturer and curator, where he worked in the UK, Europe and USA. Peter holds the Royal College of Art MA in Curating Contemporary Art, plus an MFA from the University of Arkansas.

Peter is neurodivergent, and was diagnosed with autism at the relatively advanced age of 48. He has a specific interest in exploring opportunities to work with and support Disabled, neurodivergent and d/Deaf creatives.

He collaborated with DASH in 2016 for a disability-focused project by Regan & Attwood that was exhibited as part of FORMAT Festival in 2017, and has developed opportunities for East Midlands-based neurodivergent artists alongside the LEVEL Centre. He has also organised remote training programmes for Disabled artists, while continuing to offer mentoring support and portfolio reviews to Disabled artists based across the UK.

As Executive Director, Peter leads on the development and implementation of organsational operations, systems, policies and performance indicators. He deputises when required for the CEO/Artistic Director by providing leadership and senior level oversight, and leads on income generation through both fundraising and earned income strategy, creating the conditions in which DASH can thrive.

Peter comments, “I am deeply honoured to have joined the DASH team at a formative and exciting time in the organisation’s history. As an autistic person, for much of my career as a curator, project manager and senior manager I have striven to platform, support and mentor Disabled artists to access opportunities. I now can’t wait to help DASH grow and develop in its groundbreaking support of disabled creatives.”