Miguel Amado is Senior Curator at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, England. He was the curator of the Portuguese Pavilion at the 2013 Venice Biennale. He has been a curator at Tate St Ives, England, and the Centro de Artes Visuais in Coimbra, Portugal, among other institutions. He has been a curatorial fellow at Rhizome at the New Museum and Independent Curators International in New York. Also in New York, he has been a curator-in-residence at the International Studio and Curatorial Program and the Abrons Arts Center.

As a freelancer, he has curated exhibitions and projects at various institutions and events. These include apexart in New York, the Museu Coleção Berardo in Lisbon, Frieze Projects at Frieze London, Art Projects at London Art Fair and No Soul for Sale: A Festival of Independents at the X Initiative in New York and Tate Modern in London.

He is a critic for Artforum and his writing has also appeared in magazines such as The Exhibitionist. He is adviser at FRAC Pays de la Loire in Nantes. He has been a lecturer, symposium organiser and jury member for organisations such as Istituto Europeo di Design in Venice, ARCO in Madrid and Fundación Botin in Santander.

He is attending the MRes in Curatorial/Knowledge at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is a graduate of the MA in Curating Contemporary Art at the Royal College of Art. Further education includes Night School at the New Museum, Tate Intensive at Tate Modern and the Independent Curators International Curatorial Intensive at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing.

Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, part of Teesside University, is moving forward with a civic agenda, to reconnect art with its social function and to promote it as a tool for changing the world. With this vision, we see ourselves as a ‘useful’ museum.

We wish to have an influence on society, taking a leading role in addressing current issues within politics, economics and culture. Our programmes encompass urgent themes such as housing, migration, inequality, regeneration, and healthcare.

We offer changing exhibitions, collection displays, events, learning activities, projects, and community-focused initiatives that involve many artists and publics. These programmes promote creativity for everyone in ordinary life, through education, activism and making.

We have been developing relationships with constituencies in Middlesbrough and beyond. Our ambition is that these help us shape who we are: a public site, open and accessible, diverse and inclusive, and used by all.