Tawadros to become Whitechapel Gallery director

Whitechapel Gallery has named GILANE TAWADROS as its new director, starting in October 2022.

A curator, writer and art historian, she will be the gallery’s tenth director. She succeeds IWONA BLAZWICK, who stepped down in April after 20 years.

Tawadros has over 30 years’ experience in the visual arts. She is a founding trustee and chair of the Stuart Hall Foundation and was previously the founding director of the Institute of International Visual Arts. She also established the Art360 Foundation, a charity dedicated to supporting the archives and legacies of emerging and established artists.

In her current role as Chief Executive of not-for-profit visual artists’ rights management organisation DACS, she has advocated for 180,000 artists and estates, by developing a global digital platform for contemporary and modern artists and launching a Manifesto for Artists to provide financial support beyond the pandemic.

Her research and curatorial practice focus on questions of race, globalisation and contemporary art and she has a particular interest in the work of Black British women artists.

“As a passionate advocate for the critical value of art and artists to everyone in society, I am thrilled to have this opportunity to lead one of the world’s most pioneering cultural institutions,” Tawadros said.

“I look forward to working in close collaboration with Whitechapel Gallery’s Board and team, artists, and communities in East London, across the country and the globe, to shape a future for the Gallery that is bravely responsive to the pressing socio-political and environmental context of our time.”