Artist, curator and producer Diane Howse studied at Banbury School of Art and Exeter College of Art. After graduating (BA Honours Fine Art) she was part of the Spacex Studios (founded by Alexander McNeish) group of artists and subsequent the first person to be employed by Spacex Gallery when the ground floor of the studio building was converted to a gallery. In the mid 1980s she moved to Bristol where she headed the exhibition design and display at Watershed and later moved to London.
In 1989 she founded the Harewood Contemporary programme at Harewood House Trust in Yorkshire and opened the Terrace Gallery, the first such commitment to contemporary art in the heritage sector. She continues to work with the curatorial team there in developing a changing programme of exhibitions and projects.
In 2005 she curated and produced “Appearance” a large scale exhibition over the entire disused ground floor of a building in Leeds city centre. In the following year this led to her, together with two artist curator colleagues, founding PSL [Project Space Leeds] and presenting an ongoing programme in this same space until 2012 when PSL moved to its new home The Tetley.
In 2012 she was one of the founders of the Geraldine Connor Foundation, an arts charity continuing the legacy of ethnomusicologist and theatre creator Dr Geraldine Connor. GCF works across art forms in supporting artists and creating opportunities for young people.
She has work in private and public collections including the Government Art Collection.
She is a Trustee of the Hepworth Wakefield and of Harewood House Trust. She is Chair of the Geraldine Connor Foundation and a Patron of SI Leeds Literary Prize amongst other roles.
Recent exhibitions include –
Ornament of Dust, 2024-2025, solo exhibition, with text by Iwona Blazwick, at Vivienne Roberts Projects. London
Leeds Artists Show 2023
Leeds Art Gallery survey exhibition of artists from across the Leeds city region.
Zigzaggery 2022-23
Solo exhibition at the Benjamin Rhodes gallery in London.
Carnevale 2023-2024, Vivienne Roberts Projects, London
A Little Closer, 2023, Group Show at Aleph Contemporary, London
A Generous Space 2021-22
Group show at Hastings Contemporary, Hastings.
Your Foot in my Face 2021
Group show of painting at Kingsgate Project Space, London.
Psychotropics 2020
Curated by Iwona Blazwick at the New Art Centre, Roche Court, Wiltshire.
