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Southern & Partners was founded on the belief that artists come first. Where galleries need to be tied to commercial cycles, and agencies to transaction, we offer a long-term, independent model of support.

We are neither gallery nor agency. We are partners; an extension of the artist’s studio, mediating, advocating, and growing awareness around each artist.

Sometimes our work is visible; more often it unfolds discreetly, grounded in considered care in the longstanding interests of the artists we support.

Graham SouthernFounding Partner

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Graham Southern started his career at Christie’s in 1985 in the Modern British Department becoming a director in 1990. In 1996 he established the Post War and Contemporary British Art Department. In 1998 he restructured & rebranded the Contemporary Art Department shifting the focus to works post 1970, bringing in an entirely new specialist team and moving the viewing to a curated 50,000 sq ft industrial space in Clerkenwell. He left in 2001 to join Anthony d’Offay as a Director. In 2002 he co-founded Haunch of Venison and subsequently Blain|Southern leaving in 2019 to establish Southern & Partners. Throughout his career, Graham’s primary focus has always been on the relationships with artists.

Graham has been a trustee of Art UK since 2009, a member of the Advisory Group of Christie’s Education and was formerly Chair of the Independent Assessment Board at the Royal Drawing School (2015 – 2019). He is a patron of Artangel and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Society of London Art Dealers with two terms serving as Deputy Chairman.

Stephanie Camu Founding Partner

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Stephanie has long worked in close collaboration with artists, supporting the development and realisation of ambitious projects across commercial galleries, international institutions, and culturally significant sites. Her work has included managing complex, large-scale commissions and exhibitions, and guiding artists through the production of challenging new works.

She has been an artist manager for nearly twenty-five years, a role she first shaped at Haunch of Venison and later at Blain|Southern, before co-founding Southern & Partners in 2020. Since then, she has continued to support artists with strategic development, institutional relationships, publishing projects, legacy planning, and long-term professional guidance.

Before moving into the arts, Stephanie held senior management roles in the television industry at CNN and CNBC in London. She studied History of Art at Christie’s Education, the Courtauld and the V&A. She is currently a trustee of the Barbican Centre Trust and a member of the Barbican’s Commissioning Council, and from 2015 to 2022 served on the board of Artangel, acting as Chair from 2017 to 2019.

Jess FletcherFounding Partner

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Since 2009 Jess has worked closely with some of the world’s leading contemporary artists, starting her career at Haunch of Venison before becoming Associate Director of the artist liaison and exhibitions team at Blain|Southern. As well as working on gallery exhibitions she has supported and contributed curatorially to major exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna, The Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle.

Jess also specialises in the management of artist estates and the coordination of large-scale outdoor sculpture presentations including exhibitions at the National Trust’s Cliveden and the Boboli and Bardini Gardens in Florence. She has project managed and edited numerous exhibition catalogues and major monographs on Lucian Freud, Lynn Chadwick, Michael Simpson and Anthony Caro.

Jess has an MA in History of Art from the University of Edinburgh.

Cathy Lanigan-O’KeeffePartner

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Cathy has over a decade of experience in the contemporary art world, with a particular focus on artist prints and editions, exhibition development, and institutional collaborations. She began her career working in the studios of some of the world’s leading contemporary artists, specialising in prints and editions. In 2013, she oversaw the establishment of a major editions project, responsible for publishing and curating presentations across Europe, Asia and the US.

In 2017, Cathy joined Blain|Southern as an Artist Liaison for Sean Scully, Tim Noble and Sue Webster, and Bosco Sodi. There she staged gallery exhibitions, oversaw artwork fabrication, and edited gallery publications, whilst also developing major institutional exhibitions at Tate Modern, The National Gallery, and Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Ahead of joining S&P in 2023, Cathy was the Studio Manager for Tim Noble and Sue Webster.

Cathy holds a BA in Classical Civilisation and Spanish from Trinity College Dublin.

Valeria Gemelli RavàSenior Artist Liaison

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Valeria is based between Milan and London, and maintains enduring relationships with artists, estates, museums, and galleries across Europe and the US.

Prior to joining Southern & Partners, Valeria worked at Blain|Southern, before becoming Director at Apalazzogallery. During this time, she led projects with institutions including Tate Britain, the Royal Academy of Arts, Whitechapel Gallery, PHI Montreal, Rubell Museum, Museo Correr, the Venice Biennale, and Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, among others.

Valeria earned a double degree in Humanities and Literature from the University of Bologna and Université de l’Haute Alsace, and an MSc in Arts Management from the University of Bologna and Copenhagen Business School.

Charles Saumarez SmithAssociate

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Charles Saumarez Smith is a writer, curator and art historian. He is currently Professor of Architectural History at the Royal Academy of Arts, chairman of The Royal Drawing School and The Watercolour World, a trustee of the Garden Museum, and an Emeritus Trustee of Art UK and Charleston.

Charles was the Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Arts from 2007 to 2018, involved with, and supporting, the work of contemporary artists and responsible for its new building in Burlington Gardens. He was Director of the National Gallery from 2002 to 2007, responsible for major exhibitions, including Titian, Rubens, El Greco, late Caravaggio and Velazquez and Director of the National Portrait Gallery from 1994 to 2002 where he rose to prominence for staging exhibitions by contemporary photographers, including Annie Leibovitz, Richard Avedon, Bruce Weber and fashion photographer Mario Testino.

He is the author of The Art Museum in Modern Times (Thames and Hudson, 2021). Charles was awarded a CBE in 2008 and was knighted in 2018.

Rebecca KimberlinCoordinator, Artist Liaison

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Rebecca works closely with artists and artist estates at Southern & Partners to support the development of strategies across a range of projects including institutional presentations, public commissions and publications.

Rebecca has a background working across curatorial and research-led roles within the arts and heritage sector. Prior to joining Southern & Partners in early 2023, she worked with institutions including The Estorick Collection and The Auckland Project, supporting exhibition research and visitor engagement.

She holds a BA in Classics from Durham University and an MA in The Classical World and its Reception from King's College London.

Zoë Beresford-WongCoordinator, Artist Liaison

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Zoë works with a number of artists and estates at Southern & Partners, supporting the development of institutional strategies and exhibition proposals. Her work includes coordinating museum relationships and contributing to research and publishing initiatives around artists’ practices. She also helps run the company’s mentoring programme, where she works closely with early-career artists and acts as a key point of contact.

Zoë joined Southern & Partners in 2023 after studying Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, where she specialised in political philosophy and aesthetics.

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