Dr Lola Salem
author, Artless,forthcoming 2027; writer, Art Attacks Substack; researcher; strategy and business development consultant

Dr Lola Salem is a writer, researcher and institutional strategist based in London, working across culture, politics, philanthropy and education. A Marshall Research Fellow (Pharos Foundation), she is the author of Artless (Polity, forthcoming 2027), which examines the institutions, policy and economic incentives, and ideas shaping cultural and artistic life.

Born and educated in France before moving to Britain, Lola trained at the École Normale Supérieure, the Sorbonne and Oxford where she completed her D.Phil in Music and Musicology. Before entering academia, she was a professional singer with the Maîtrise de Radio France. Her research has ranged from the economics and administration of early modern opera to cultural policy, patronage, institutional governance and arts funding. On her substack Art Attacks, she explores art and culture infrastructures across the world, and developed the concept of the “post-cultural state”: a polity that has abandoned or forgotten the need and means to sustain a theory of culture.

Alongside her academic and writing work, Lola advises organisations, founders and boards on strategy, fundraising and institutional development. She has worked with organisations across higher education, think tanks, media and the arts, including the Canterbury Institute, The Critic, Freedom in the Arts and Verdurin.

Follow Lola on X: @SalemLola

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