Jo Baring is an art historian and curator and the Director of the Ingram Collection of Modern British & Contemporary Art, one of the UK’s most significant art collections. Jo created and launched The Ingram Prize, an annual visual arts prize. She chairs the selection committee and curates the finalist exhibition. Previous winners include Sin Wai Kin, nominated for the 2022 Turner Prize. The Ingram Prize was highlighted by The Times as Critics Choice for Visual Arts. In addition to the Ingram Prize, she is a regular judge on art prizes.

Jo actively contributes to research and scholarship in the field of modern British and contemporary art. In 2022 she edited Revisiting Modern British Art. The book reframes previous narratives and invites readers to consider a more expansive idea of what nationality means in relation to the art. Sir Stephen Deuchar (Director, Art Fund, 2010-2020) called it ‘an intelligent and engaging reappraisal of modern British art’. Over the course of 2022 Jo delivered lectures on the book at various UK institutions including both Oxford and Cambridge Universities. In March 2023 she led a weekend conference based on her book at Tate St Ives, featuring research and discussion with independent writers and curators from key institutions. Other recent writing includes an essay on the sculptural language of Bharti Kher for the Arnolfini, Bristol and a personal reflection on Phyllida Barlow for Apollo. Her podcast series Sculpting Lives which she co-writes and co-hosts with Dr Sarah Victoria Turner (supported by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art) was listed by The Royal Academy, The Guardian, and The Evening Standard amongst others as one of the best arts podcasts. She has curated exhibitions at the Royal Society of Sculptors, Masterpiece London and diverse public institutions. In 2023 she is co-curating ‘A Spirit Inside’, a collaboration with The Women’s Art Collection at Murray Edwards College, Cambridge and the Ingram Collection, at The Lightbox. The exhibition features work by Leonora Carrington, Lubaina Himid and Paula Rego. She is a sought after speaker, having spoked at The Royal Academy, The Hepworth Wakefield, Pallant House Gallery, The Sainsbury Centre, The Royal College of Art and Downing College, Cambridge amongst others; art fairs such as Frieze and commercial galleries including Hauser & Wirth. 

In 2023 Jo was elected the Frankland Visitor at Brasenose College, Oxford. This was created to host distinguished artistic, cultural or public figures beyond the academic world, to be in residence to interact with students an enhance and enrich the student offering. She also sit on the boards of the Artists’ Collecting Society and Women of the Year.

Photo Credit: Phil Adams