DASH has appointed Peter Bonnell into the newly created role of Executive Director.

Peter is currently the Arts Programme Manager at QUAD and the Director of FORMAT International Photography Festival, where he leads 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.

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

Peter Bonnell comments: “I am deeply honoured to join the DASH team at this 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 get started to help DASH grow and develop in its groundbreaking support of disabled creatives.”

DASH is a Disabled-led visual arts organisation that creates new work and develops meaningful opportunities for Disabled artists. To date, DASH has chalked up two decades of important work with representation and collaboration at its heart. From programmes for Young Disabled Artists through to shaping strategic roles for Disabled curators, DASH’s work has helped to support Disabled people at all stages of a creative practice.