Barbican names Director for Arts and Participation

DEVYANI SALTZMAN has been appointed as the Barbican's new Director for Arts and Participation.

Saltzman is a Canadian writer, curator, public thinker and cultural leader with over fifteen years' experience in cultural institutions. She will take up her new role in early July.

Working with the Barbican’s leadership team – across Cinema, Creative Collaboration, Immersive, Music, Theatre & Dance and Visual Arts – Saltzman will act as an enabler for the arts and champion the industry. She will also play an important role in delivering Destination City, the City of London Corporation’s flagship programme. The City Corporation is the founder and principal funder of the Barbican.
 
Saltzman was most recently Director of Public Programming at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Previously, she was Director of Literary Arts at the Banff Centre in Canada. 
 
Barbican CEO CLAIRE SPENCER said: “Devyani brings a wealth of experience, an international voice, and a new ethos of leadership based on collaboration, values and service to the public. Her ideas and experience will be instrumental in our ongoing journey towards a revitalised Barbican, as London’s creative catalyst for arts, curiosity, and enterprise, and a truly welcoming and transformational space for artists, audiences, and communities.”
 
Saltzman added: " I’m honoured to be joining the extraordinary team at the Barbican. I can’t wait to work with them and London’s many communities, to create a space that is both international and deeply local: daring, trust-based, politically relevant, and at the forefront of artistic practice." 
 
TOM SLEIGH, Chair of Barbican Centre, said: “Devyani will be a fantastic addition to the Barbican’s leadership team. The Barbican has always had a deeply international outlook, and I’m delighted that it continues to attract the best talent from around the world.”