The curator and head of programmes at London contemporary visual arts organisation Gasworks has been appointed as the new director of Bristol’s Spike Island gallery.
Robert Leckie, pictured, who will take up the position this autumn, has led the exhibitions, residencies and public programmes at Gasworks since 2011. 
He succeeds Helen Legg, who was appointed as director of Tate Liverpool earlier this year and took up the post this month.
At Gasworks, Robert curated the first UK solo exhibitions of a number of leading international artists, commissioned new work by UK-based artists and established numerous international partnerships and collaborative projects, including recent commissions that have travelled to Art in General in New York and Beirut’s Sursock Museum.
He is also a visiting lecturer at the Royal College of Art and has lectured widely on art and curating.
He said: “My experience of leading the exhibitions and international residencies programmes at Gasworks makes me hugely excited about expanding upon Spike Island’s potential as an integrated centre for the production and presentation of art. I look forward to working strategically with colleagues and partners in Bristol and beyond to further Spike Island’s impact on a local, national and international scale.”
Chair of Spike Island Andrew Cooper added: “Spike Island reached new levels of achievement during Helen’s period as director. We believe that Robert is exactly the right person to build upon this success and grasp the opportunities that come with it and we are confident that he will deliver great things for Spike Island and the visual arts in Bristol and beyond.
“We look forward to seeing his passion, commitment and inclusive approach towards developing and supporting artists, translated to Spike Island’s unique and thriving ecology.”
Navigation Charts, a solo exhibition last year by Lubaina Himid at Spike Island, was among the works that earned the artist last year’s Turner Prize.
