Bethan Burnside (°1995, they/them) is a curator at the intersection of science, art, and health. They studied neuroscience at King's College London, and curation at the Royal Academy of Arts in Ghent. Bethan is currently Curatorial Fellow at Contour Biennale 11 in Mechelen, Belgium.
Bethan started their curatorial trajectory in 2022, after an ADHD diagnosis led them to examining biomedicine through a neurodivergent lens, resulting in them creating NeuroArt and leaving their career as a neuroscientist behind. Their community-based participatory practice is deeply shaped by their lived experience, and engages with Crip, Mad, and Queer theory.
From 2023 to 2026, Bethan has been a science communicator at the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Neuroscience, where they drive multimedia storytelling and community engagement. They are part of the editorial board of Big Bang, Belgium's science communication magazine, and ambassador at the Science Trust Project. Their public engagement work has received recognition, including the Science & Society Sparks award most recently.
In 2026, Bethan started Curo Agency, a care‑centered creative and science communication consultancy that bridges art, research, and curatorial collaboration. With a strong focus on co‑design processes and pressing societal issues, Bethan cultivates spaces where diverse voices shape knowledge, fostering accessibility, dialogue, and cultural change.
Alongside their curatorial practice, Bethan frequently contributes as a speaker and expert, most recently for Art, Science & Policy Workshop at EU Policy Lab, STU13 at Sint Lucas Antwerp, and Fabricage Assemblage at Blikfabriek. They serve as a steering committee member at the World Health Organization, an advisory board member at PLOS Mental Health Journal, and a trustee at the Oriel Davies Gallery.
Bethan Burnside can be booked for talks, workshops, advice, and expertise, as well as curatorial and science communication collaborations.
They have worked with numerous organisations across science, art, and health, including the Wellcome Trust, International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO), World Health Organisation (WHO), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), VIB, King’s College London, Erasmus Medical Center, SILBERSALZ Science & Media Festival, Goethe Institut, Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Vesalius Museum, KANAL Centre-Pompidou, Global Mental Health Peer Network, Biodesign Challenge, Marie Curie Alumni Association, Kavli Foundation, American Physical Society (APS), GUM Museum, British Neuroscience Association (BNA), SciMingo, Contour Biennale, ALBA Network, Science Gallery, and the EU Commission, among others.