Louise Todd

I am a visual artist and academic, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. In both aspects of my work, I observe people and places through the lens of tourism, as a phenomenon, and as a set of practices. My artwork reflects how we gaze upon, experience, and perform tourism when we engage with spaces and places. My artwork and research are linked, and each informs the other. I am particularly interested in narratives of visual culture, tourism and the tourist gaze, alongside festivals, and cities.

I studied at Glasgow School of Art in the 1990s, where I completed a BA (Hons) in Fine Art, Sculpture, followed by an MPhil in Art and Design in Organisational Contexts. Since then, I have worked in a variety of roles across the arts, festivals, events, and media. I undertook a PhD between 2007 and 2010 at Edinburgh Napier University. This was concerned with image and identity in the context of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as the world’s leading event tourism phenomenon.

I continue to work as an academic at Edinburgh Napier, and my art and research are complementary processes and practices. Having returned to painting and the study of art relatively recently, I have exhibited my work; and have also presented my work at various research seminars and conferences.