Susannah is an art historian, writer and critic from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, based between Glasgow and the north of England (Manchester/Leeds). She holds a PhD in History of Art from the University of Glasgow, an MPhil in Art and Design in Organisational Contexts from The Glasgow School of Art and an MA (Hons) in History of Art from the University of Glasgow.
Susannah has worked as a freelance critic and art writer since 1999 and has published reviews, articles, interviews and features in leading international art publications including Art Review, Artforum, The Burlington Magazine, Burlington Contemporary, Corridor8, ‘Even, Flash Art, MAP, Modern Painters, Sight and Sound, The Yellow Paper, Variant and many others. She has written numerous catalogue essays and gallery texts for artists and organisations including Art UK, Tramway, CCA, Transmission, Street Level Photoworks (all Glasgow), Glasgow School of Art, Leeds College of Art, Linn Lühn (Cologne), Collective (Edinburgh) and YYZ (Toronto).
Her academic research has been widely published in academic journals including the Journal of Contemporary Painting, Museum History Journal, Visual Studies, Journal for Writing in Creative Practice, Journal of the Scottish Society for Art History and Visual Culture in Britain, and in book chapters published by Manchester University Press, Edinburgh University Press, Routledge and others. Susannah’s doctoral thesis examined artists’ writings in Scotland published between 1960-1990, focusing on alternative and experimental modes of writing and post-criticism, writing as a part of visual art practice and the role of free-sheets, gallery texts and other ephemeral publications within contemporary art in Scotland. Her course, Art Writing, was a core component of the MA Contemporary Art Theory programme at Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh. It ran from 2010-2017 and was the first of its kind in Scotland, second in the UK.
Before taking up her position as Professor of Art History and Criticism at Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University in Oct 2024, Susannah was Head of Doctoral Studies at The Glasgow School of Art between 2017-2024, and was awarded a Professorship in Contemporary Art and Criticism in 2020. Prior to that, she worked at Edinburgh College of Art (ECA), University of Edinburgh, as Director for Postgraduate Research (2014-17), Co-Director of Visual Culture (2011-14) and Lecturer in Visual Culture (2006-2017) in the School of Art. She has also worked as a Lecturer in Historical and Critical Studies at The Glasgow School of Art (2003-2007) and a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Strathclyde (Architectural History and Theory) and the University of Glasgow (History of Art). She is currently a guest contributor to the MLitt Art Writing at Glasgow School of Art, co-leads the Visual Culture Research Group at Manchester School of Art (with Professor Sarah James), and supervises PhD students in her areas of research.