People

Working in various media, John Carson has explored the interface between high and low culture and has sought to broaden the audience for contemporary art practice. He has exhibited and performed internationally, made soundworks and CDs, broadcast work on television and radio, and created installations. Both as a curator and artist, Carson has been involved in many types of ‘public art’ projects. He has shown drawings, photographs, prints and sculpture in such venues as The Douglas Hyde Gallery in Dublin, The ICA in London, CCA in Glasgow, IKON Gallery in Birmingham, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art in Australia, The Aine Art Museum in Tornio Finland, PS1 in New York, New Langton Arts in San Francisco and The Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh. He received his BFA from The University of Ulster in Belfast  in 1976 and his MFA from California Institute of the Arts in 1983. From 1986 to 1991 he was Production Director of Artangel, a London-based organization which presented temporary art works in public locations. He has been a visiting lecturer at various schools and colleges in Ireland, UK, Europe, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. He taught at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland and at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, England, where he was Course Director of the BFA program from 1999 to 2006. From 2006 to 2016 he was Head of the School of Art at Carnegie Mellon University, where he continued teaching until 2022.