Art Fund launches scheme to tackle lack of diversity in curatorial roles

The Art Fund has launched a programme to support senior to mid-career curators from global majority backgrounds.

The Empowering Curators initiative will see 20 people hosted by museums and galleries across the UK. Alongside hosting fellows, each organisation will undertake a programme of change to advance equity, diversity and inclusion.

The Curatorial Fellows will receive professional development from Clore Leadership.

“Since I began my career in the arts, calls for action in the sector have long been heard but rarely answered, with talented curators lost to industries that are both more supportive and progressive,” said V&A East director Gus Casely-Hayford.

“Curators are at the forefront of cultural exchange. Through their work, audiences can imagine new worlds, understand different histories, and reflect upon the world we live in today. Empowering Curators is one step closer towards bringing about this much needed change, ensuring that the next generation of cultural leaders are reflective of the global, diverse and dynamic Britain we live in today.”

Empowering Curators was created in response to the Art Fund’s 2022 report It’s About Handing Over Power, which was developed with Museum X, Culture& and a steering group of arts leaders from across the sector.

The report found that previous diversity initiatives rarely focused on curatorial roles and lacked evidence-based, long-term impact – undermining the sustainability of curatorial careers for global majority professionals and limiting what institutions can offer their audiences.

Arts Council England NPO data (2018-23) shows that 6% of those working in museums identify as Black, Asian, or ethnically diverse. As reported in the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre’s State of the Nations 2024 report, this number is further reduced in management and executive positions, with most UK sector equity schemes created for entry-level roles.

The Art Fund is the lead funder for Empowering Curators with other supporters including The Headley Trust, Arts Council England, Ford Foundation, Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, Rothschild Foundation, John Booth Charitable Foundation, and Hollick Family Foundation.

Applications to participate in the second cohort of host museums and curators will open later this year.

The first Curatorial Fellows and their host organisations:

• Neicia March at Autograph, London
• Sim Panaser at Chapter, Cardiff
• Taniah Simpson at Culture Coventry
• Nelson Cummins at Glasgow Life
• Nusrat Ahmed at Manchester Museum
• Jill Sutherland at National Museums Liverpool
• Hannah Cusworth and Nydia A Swaby at Royal Museums Greenwich, London
• Carine Harmand at Tate Liverpool
• Christo Kefalas at the Whitworth, Manchester