Zoé Whitley Is Helping Lead a Transformation of the Arts in the U.K.

In an essay published in Maud Sulter’s 1990 anthology Passion: Discourses on Blackwomen’s Creativity, artist and curator Lubaina Himid describes what it means to be a leader as a Black woman in the arts. “Being the first has its triumphs, keeping going is where the hard work begins,” she writes. “If we really believed we were the first Black women to call ourselves artists we would have an excuse to give up, we were not, we are the continuum. We are part of an enormous international movement which stretches far back in time.”

As one of the most prominent curators in the U.K. and certainly one of the most visible Black women in the industry, Zoé Whitley has been at the forefront of this effort in recent years. In 2017, Whitley and her co-curators sent deep currents through Tate Modern with her magnum opus, “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power.” The exhibition was a thorough and uberous exploration of African American art from the 1960s through the ’80s. In the same year, “The Place is Here,” a group survey of the 1980s Black British Art movement, traveled the U.K.

Now, in her current role as the director of London’s esteemed Chisenhale Gallery, Whitley and her team are preparing to debut their inaugural presentation, “Law of Large Numbers: Our Selves,” the first U.K. solo exhibition of work by Rindon Johnson. Opening this November, the show will feature a series of newly commissioned works by the Berlin-based African American artist, interlacing CGI and sculpture to examine the ways in which we construct senses of identity and belonging.

Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Los Angeles, Whitley moved to London nearly 20 years ago. Upon relocation, she would complete a master’s degree in the history of design from the Royal College of Art and later earn her Ph.D. from the University of Central Lancashire under the supervision of the Turner Prize–winning artist and curator Lubaina Himid. “A key lesson I learned,” Whitley reminisced, “is one that Himid taught me early on: Listen to artists!”Whitley explained how, at the start of her museum career, she witnessed firsthand how certain curatorial practices were at odds with what was best for artists. “Standout experiences include those where I’ve been able to keep the artist’s needs foremost while marshalling the best of the institution to support the artist and their practice,” she said. In the years since, Whitley has become a powerful advocate for artists in her role as a curator.

Between the pandemic and the global outcry for institutional accountability through the long-standing Black Lives Matter movement, this past year has tested the mettle of many cultural leaders. In the U.K., museums and galleries were subject to constantly vacillating shutdowns. Around the world, institutions rushed to declare their support for and will to change, often with easy and quick gestures like social media posts, newly founded diversity and inclusion roles, and nebulous pledges to “do better.”

“Everything has changed,” said Whitley. “I’m finding it productive that no matter how seasoned or fledgling someone might be in their leadership position, we are all navigating the ongoing effects of a global health crisis and its unknown aftermath on the cultural sector and the livelihoods of artists.”

Overall, Whitley’s outlook is positive. “What I’ve experienced is a lot of transparency, candor, and goodwill in sharing strategies and approaches,” she said. “There’s also been a tremendous outpouring of financial support from artists who have the means to do so to benefit fellow artists who are struggling. Long may that continue.”

Working in an environment entrenched in white capitalist patriarchal omission, Black women art practitioners navigate difficult terrain that necessitates them being hyper aware of being used or tokenized. They must be seriously critical without deserting a fervent commitment to aesthetics, culture, and audiences.

For the first time in history, Black women in the U.K. occupy a range of executive roles in the arts. With Eva Langret as Frieze London’s artistic director, Sepake Angiama at Iniva, Yesomi Umolu as Serpentine’s director of curatorial affairs, Elvira Dyangani Ose as the director of The Showroom, Bernie Grant Arts Centre’s CEO Hannah Azieb Pool, and Arike Oke as the managing director of Black Cultural Archives—to name a small few—Whitley has found herself among phenomenal company. “Between lively WhatsApp groups and regular Zoom check-ins, I’m in regular contact with individuals I’m lucky enough to call friends and colleagues,” she shared. “I am sustained by the ‘TBC’ date in our diaries when we can meet in person over a meal and drinks!”