Steve Panton (b. Nottingham, England, 1961) is the co-founder of Essay’d, the founder of 2739 Edwin and 9338 Campau Galleries, the co-founder of the Hamtramck Neighborhood Arts Festival, and the co-founder of the Hamtramck Free School.

He has produced over 60 exhibitions, several of which have traveled to larger institutions or received national recognition; was the curator of the innovative Art@TheMax program at Detroit’s Orchestra Hall; and writes on Detroit art for The Brooklyn Rail, the Detroit Metro Times, and Sculpture Magazine. A portfolio of selected exhibitions at 2739 Edwin and 9338 Campau is available here.

Panton has 35 years of experience in the tech industry as an engineer, project manager, technical consultant, solution architect, business consultant, and business manager of an engineering software division at a global tech company.

Panton’s current research is at the intersection of art, technology, and political economy. He argues it is too simplistic to consider art and culture to be a business, but is an active proponent of applying for-profit business processes, such as structured design methodologies, data analytics, and value delivery methodologies, to answer critical questions about the distribution and utilization of resources in the art ecosystem.

Testimonials from workshops in which he applies these principles to the curatorial process can be read here.

Image credit: Jeff Cancelosi.