Strategic Director, Shorefast and Fogo Island Arts

Kitty Scott is a curator, writer and senior arts administrator. She is currently Strategic Director at Shorefast and Fogo Island Arts. Former Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, she has also served as the Carol and Morton Rapp Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Director of Visual Arts at The Banff Centre, Chief Curator at Serpentine Galleries, and curator of Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Canada.

She has curated exhibitions of artists such as Francis Alÿs, Janet Cardiff, Paul Chan, Peter Doig, Geoffrey Farmer, Theaster Gates, Brian Jungen, Ragnar Kjartansson, Ken Lum, Gordon Matta-Clark, Scott McFarland, Silke Otto-Knapp, Ron Terada, and Jin-me Yoon. She co-curated the Liverpool Biennial (with Sally Tallant) (2018), presented Geoffrey Farmer’s project at the Canada Pavilion for the Venice Biennale (2017) and was an agent for dOCUMENTA (13) (2012), Kassel, Germany

She has written extensively on contemporary art for catalogues and journals including Parachute, Parkett, and Canadian Art. Scott has contributed to numerous books on curatorial studies and written texts for monographic publications on the work of Matthew Barney, Peter Doig, Brian Jungen, Adam Pendleton, and Daniel Richter; and for the publication Creamier: Contemporary Art in Culture (Phaidon, London, New York, 2010). As an independent curator, she has worked on numerous exhibitions including Gordon Matta-Clark: Line of Flight (2020), Bankside Browser (2000) for Tate Modern, London, and Universal Pictures (1999) at the Melbourne International Biennial.

Scott organized the curatorial symposium “Are Curators Unprofessional?” (2010) at The Banff Centre and edited the publication Raising Frankenstein: Curatorial Education and Its Discontents (Koenig Books, Cologne, 2010). She was the Canadian coordinator for the Seventh International Istanbul Biennial (2001) and also worked on the inaugural SITE Santa Fe Biennial (1995). Scott has taught at numerous institutions including the Curatorial Practice Program at the California College of the Arts, San Francisco.

Senior Program Manager, Shorefast and Fogo Island Arts

Iris moved to Fogo Island almost 13 years ago, before the opening of Fogo Island Inn. Born in Switzerland and raised in Sioux Lookout, Ontario, Iris studied at Toronto’s OCAD University and worked at non-profit and community arts organizations before joining FIA in a variety of roles essential to the program’s growth. Iris’ favourite part of working with Fogo Island Arts and Shorefast is being surrounded by all these great artists – from here and from away. “The combination of this place, wild and rugged, with contemporary art is really special.”

Residency Program Coordinator

Alicia Penton is a born and bred Fogo Islander, raised in the community of Joe Batt’s Arm. Alicia spent her childhood combing the shores and running wild through Fogo Island’s open spaces. Alicia attended Memorial University in St. John’s and lived in the city for a few years before returning to Fogo Island and settling in the community of Island Harbour with her partner and her Norwegian Elkhound, Helga. In Alicia’s free time she enjoys painting, DIY projects, watching anime, playing card games and darts.