Dr. Sarah Lowndes

is the curator of Three Blows. She curated ‘Three Blows’, a weekend of experimental acoustic performance by visual artists/musicians (2008) and the Three Blows all-women performance event ‘Urlibido’, for Glasgow International 2010, co-organised the symposium Subject in Process: Feminism and Art (2009) and curated the international group exhibition ‘Votive’ at CCA, Glasgow (2009). Lowndes is also a writer and a lecturer in the Forum for Critical Inquiry at Glasgow School of Art, where her research focuses on artist-led projects, interdisciplinary and performance-related practice and contemporary art. She has contributed to Frieze, Art on Paper, Untitled, Spike Art Quarterly and Afterall and to catalogues for international institutions. A revised and expanded second edition of her book Social Sculpture: The Rise of the Glasgow Art Scene was published by The Luath Press in 2010.

Katie Nicoll

is the producer of Three Blows. As an independent events producer, she has successfully worked across all art forms, including visual arts, film, site-specific environmental animations and permanent public art projects. Between 1997 and 2005, Nicoll managed some of NVA’s most seminal works, including the National Day for Britain, Expo 98, Lisbon, The Path, Glen Lyon (2000) and the Hidden Gardens, Glasgow (2003). Amongst her numerous projects, Nicoll was producer of Scottish BAFTA winner "Six Hours of Daylight" (2004), the co-producer of Radiance Glasgow, Scotland’s first major ‘Festival of Light’ (2005) and the producer of Jardins Publics, the visual art programme for the Edinburgh International Festival 2007. Since 2008, Nicoll has been the producer of Scotland + Venice, working on behalf of the commissioners (Creative Scotland, National Galleries of Scotland and British Council Scotland) on Scotland's presentation at the Venice Biennale, the most renowned showcase of contemporary visual arts in the world. In 2009, she worked with curatorial partner Dundee Contemporary Arts on Martin Boyce's solo exhibition No Reflections and in 2011, with The Fruitmarket Gallery on Karla Black's solo exhibition. In 2008, Nicoll also received an independent producer's bursary from the Scottish Arts Council to support and develop her work.