Artist Q&A: Makiko Harris in Conversation with Kiera Blakey: Roca Gallery, London, UK

On the occasion of her solo exhibition Armoury: Tools of Resistance at Roca Gallery, join multimedia artist Makiko Harris in conversation with curator Kiera Blakey as they explore the ideas, processes, and personal histories that shape Harris's bold and expansive practice.

Makiko Harris is a Japanese-American interdisciplinary artist whose work transforms everyday symbols of femininity such as fingernails and sewing needles into monumental sculptures, paintings, films, and installations that interrogate the theater of identity, agency, and subjecthood. Selected for New Contemporaries (2026) and a finalist for The Cass Art Prize (2025), The Women in Art Prize (2025), and the Ingram Prize (2024), her work has been exhibited at institutions including Dulwich Picture Gallery, South London Gallery, Villa Schöningen, and Kunstverein Wolfsburg, and is held in collections including The Bunker Museum (Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection). Harris holds an MA in Contemporary Art Practice from the Royal College of Art (2023) and a BA in Philosophy and Studio Art from Tufts University. She is represented by Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery and lives and works in London.

In conversation with Harris is Kiera Blakey, a senior curator and strategic leader with two decades of experience across galleries, museums, and the public realm. Currently Director of New Contemporaries, a national artist development programme supporting emerging practice across the UK, Blakey has held senior roles at the ICA London, Camden Art Centre, Nottingham Contemporary, and Art on the Underground, where she initiated and led over fifty new site-specific commissions seen by more than 100 million people across London. A two-time recipient of the Art Fund Jonathan Ruffer Curatorial Grant and an Associate Curator at Compton Verney, she brings a deep commitment to centring artists and expanding access to the arts. Blakey holds a BA in Fine Art and an MA in Philosophy.

 

Wednesday, 25 February 

6:30 - 7:30 Talk 

7:30 - 9:30 Private View Drinks Reception