ABOUT
Laura Robertson is a working-class art critic, writer, editor and award-winning lecturer based in Liverpool, UK. She is currently writing Alive~Asleep, a creative non-fiction book about night terrors, grief and contemporary culture, which will be published by Broken Sleep Books (November 2026), and NIGHT, a coffee table book on nocturnes for Tate Publishing (October 2027).
She has bylines in the world’s top magazines and newspapers, including Art Monthly, ArtReview, Elephant, frieze, The Guardian and Hyperallergic, and she’s a regular guest critic on the national arts and culture show, BBC Radio 4 Front Row.
She co-founded The Double Negative online arts magazine with Mike Pinnington in 2011, and has been commissioning and platforming under-the-radar people, projects and places ever since – including under-represented and early-career culture writers from the North of England. They are both from working-class backgrounds, and continue to push more voices through into arts publishing through teaching, training and partnerships.
Laura is a Lecturer in Photography Theory, an early career researcher, an ‘outstanding lecturer’ award winner, and Jenkinson Award winner at the University of Greater Manchester, which runs the top four course for photography in the UK (Guardian League Tables). The university will support her in hosting her first academic conference in July 2026, entitled Creature, Stranger, Monster, Other. Her teaching methods are led by research into widening participation, compassion-focused pedagogy, and unconditional positive regard.
Laura has a MA in Writing from the Royal College of Art, London, and a first-class BA in Visual Art (text and sound art) from the University of Salford, Greater Manchester. Laura teaches a broad range of students from different backgrounds – with a focus on widening participation, special educational needs, kindness and play – to explore arts writing as a creative practice.
Since 2010, Laura has been a guest lecturer in further and higher education, at the following institutions: Blackpool & The Fylde College, Central Saint Martins, Hugh Baird College University Centre, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool John Moores University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Royal College of Art, University of Bolton, University of Central Lancashire, University of Reading, University of Salford, and Wirral Metropolitan College.
Laura has been a speaker, panel chair and workshop-lead at the following cultural organisations: a-n, Art For Hull, The Bluecoat, Castlefield Gallery, Contemporary Visual Arts Network North-West, Designmuseo Helsinki, FACT Liverpool, Factory International, Finnish Art Agency, Finnish Museums Association, Halton Borough of Culture, Kuopio Art Museum, Liverpool Biennial, Mark Devereux Projects, Newport Street Gallery (Damien Hirst), Open Eye Gallery, The Royal Standard, Storyhouse Chester, Tate Liverpool, Waterside Arts Trafford, and more.
Laura was part of the judging panel for the inaugural Liverpool Sculpture Prize 2024.
︎︎︎ Read my indie arts and culture magazine, co-founded with arts writer Mike Pinnington in 2011: thedoublenegative.co.uk
︎︎︎ Buy me a coffee, and join my other supporters for a credit in my upcoming book ☕️️ buymeacoffee.com/laurarobbo
Contact Laura Robertson
Based in Liverpool, UK, with easy access to airport and train services.
︎︎︎ laura[at]thedoublenegative[dot]co[dot]uk
︎ +44(0)7854697434
︎︎︎ Instagram: doublenegativeL
︎︎︎ TikTok: art_critic_laura