Our Judges

Abigail Harrison Moore is Professor of Art History and Museum Studies at the University of Leeds. Abigail’s research focusses on the art history of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, and her last monograph, Fraud, Fakery and False Business (Continuum, 2011), considered the social, legal and political dimensions of the art and antiques market in 1920’s England. Her co-edited book has recently been published - In a New Light; Histories of Women and Energy (MQUP, 2021).

Amber is a multidisciplinary artist and creative facilitator based in Bristol. Bardell graduated from Contemporary Media Practice (BA) at The University of Westminster in 2021, and has a special interest in creative documentaries. Amber was 2017 SPoKE winner, and later went on to make 'Art as Catharsis', a 30-minute documentary that explores the positive effects of various visual art forms through a range of people's experiences. Former Director of volunteer run, international art collective !GWAK, Amber has guided emerging creatives to collaborate with one another, hosted many events and innovative projects. Amber is now predominantly working with painting, and facilitating innovative exhibitions.

Tina is an Arts and Learning Consultant for museums, galleries and arts organisations with clients including the National Portrait Gallery, Royal Opera House, Art Explora, Art History Abroad and The Ashmolean. Her work ranges from commissioning artists, co-curating seminars and producing short films, to editing research reports, teaching, evaluating programmes and creating online content for collections and exhibitions. Previously, Tina was CEO of participatory arts charity People United, and held senior learning roles at Tate Britain, Museum of London and English Heritage. She studied History of Art at Warwick University and gained a PGCE in Art & Design at the Institute of Education, UCL.

Anna has taught Art History and Critical Thinking. She read Art History and Philosophy at UCL and then did an MA based in the eighteenth century at The Courtauld. While working as Exhibition Assistant for a show on Painted Glass Roundels of the fifteenth century she taught at the Metropolitan Museum and the Cloisters. Now a freelance writer with reviews and obituaries published in the Art Newspaper, Anna works as a Governor at two schools; one private, one maintained.

Holly is a freelance art historian, photographer and filmmaker based in Amsterdam. She has a Masters in Art History from St Andrews as well as studying Photojournalism at the University of Richmond, Virginia. Holly teaches for Art History Abroad alongside her creative work. Her connection to the subject has given her a fluency in visual analysis and communication which informs her own work. More recently Holly has produced a number of music videos as well as a Documentary short, Fifty Days, that was premiered at Doc n’ Roll Film Festival in London last November.

Kate Gordon is the founder and CEO of London Art Studies. Having produced arts programming for Carlton TV and CNN, Kate founded London Art Studies in 2011. LAS won The Good Web Guide’s “Excellence in Education” award 5 months after this, closely followed by a Lovie (2019), the People’s Voice Award in the Webby’s (2020) and the Davey Award (2021). The new website for young people “the Academy” was nominated for a Webby in 2022.

Maia is an independent documentary filmmaker from London. She has directed and produced films for charities and arts organisations, and taught creative workshops in schools and universities across the UK. With a background in history and art, she has always been interested in visual storytelling and the ways it can connect us to each other. In 2018 she met the co-founders of Extinction Rebellion and has spent the last four years immersed in the world of activism.

Mark Cazalet is a contemporary British artist. He trained at Chelsea and Falmouth School of Art, after which he held two post graduate scholarships at L’Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and at M.S. University Baroda in India. He employs a wide variety of media in his studio practice, ecclesiastical commissions, and in projects working with communities. He produced an illustrated book of Thomas Hardy’s late poetry with The Old Stile Press, and images for a book with The London HIV + Chaplaincy.

Nick Ross is the Director of Art History Abroad, an educational travel company that runs courses for students (sixth formers, those taking a gap year and undergraduates) principally in Europe, particularly Italy, but also India and Japan. Nick also organises and runs trips for adults in numerous European and Asian cities. He studied art history at UEA after which he pursued postgraduate research on Baroque Rome. He has published books on Canaletto and Mirò.

Orlaith studied History of Art and after graduating started working at an interactive branding agency called Digit based in Shoreditch. She moved to New York City where she worked at The Mill as a Producer, working on big VFX projects for commercials and music videos. She set up the Post Production department for m ss ng p eces, a new wave production company based in Brooklyn. In 2016 she moved back home to London to set up Friends Electric, an animation division of ETC. In 2018 she joined Blinkink as Head of Studio, where she works today to support the team in creating world class animation content.

Patricia’s career has spanned over two decades of filmmaking in some of the most remote corners of the world. Originally an investigative journalist specialising in human rights, she has directed on a vast range of award-winning series, notably for the BBC where she was staff producer for 15 years. She holds a joint MA in Politics and Art History from the University of St Andrews, and completed a PhD in International Relations in London. She co-founded a global media literacy club for primary school children and is currently an Executive Producer at Development Media International.

Rupert Isaacson is an author, journalist, film maker and the founder of the Horseboy Foundation, a charity that offers educational support for neurodiverse children in programmes that run in numerous countries around the world. He is most well known for his book and film, The Horse Boy, documenting a journey he made to Mongolia with his autistic son. He also works as a trainer for élite horsemen and women from his stables in Germany. He studied History at the University of York.

Grant Simon Rogers is an artist, photographer and freelance art historian based in Berlin. Studying illustration at Portsmouth College of Art he has worked in publishing and film & television animation. He has decades of teaching experience in Museum and Gallery Education and is a visiting lecturer for universities and art schools.  He is a freelance lecturer for Art History Abroad. Recently, Grant's photographic practice has been supported by Leica Cameras Germany, who have showcased his highly theatrical style of floral photography. Grant continues to show his photographic works throughout Europe and has work in permanent public collections in the US and the UK. 

Frankie is a postdoctoral fellow of the British Academy and research fellow in English at the University of Exeter. Frankie's research focuses on the intersections between art, literature, lifewriting, and performance in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Frankie received their PhD in History of Art at the University of Cambridge in 2023, and is currently working on their first book, provisionally entitled Decadent Aestheticism and the Queer Practice of Art History.

Francesca Ramsay is an author, editor and art history teacher based in Bristol.  Her first book, PINCH ME: Trying to Feel Real in the 21st Century came out last year, and has recently been published in Italian as Toccami (Touch Me). Her second book, a monograph on the Post War artist Wilfred Avery, and titled Wilfred Avery and the Unpredictable Image was published alongside an exhibition of the same name that she curated in Devon. Francesca holds an MA with Distinction in Art History, Curatorship and Renaissance Culture from the Warburg Institute in London. She has taught and guided in museums and cultural sites all over the UK and abroad.