Christopher Turner joined the V&A in 2017 as Keeper of Design, Architecture and Digital, and Head of Festivals and Biennales. He is now Keeper of Art, Architecture, Photography and Design, responsible for more than two million objects, from the medieval to contemporary, including eight national collections. As well as heading the department, Christopher leads the V&A’s annual collaboration with La Biennale di Venezia and curated the Tropical Modernism exhibition.

Before joining the V&A, Christopher was the founding Director of the London Design Biennale, which brought 50 countries to Somerset House in 2016. From 2015-17, he was Deputy Director of the London Design Festival, delivering over 500 events a year, including a special programme of exhibits throughout the V&A. He has also been the editor-in-chief of leading international art and design titles, and set up the Central Cities Institute, a think tank based at the University of Westminster.

Christopher has a double first in Archaeology, Anthropology and Art History from the University of Cambridge and a PhD in 18th and 19th century aesthetics from the University of London. He has been a research scholar in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University, and a lecturer at Birkbeck College, University of London and the Architectural Association. He has published widely on art, design and culture, and is a frequent contributor to the Guardian, Apollo magazine and London Review of Books.

Christopher became a CW+ Trustee in April 2025.