Gus Casely-Hayford, director of V&A East, explains that his new museum and archive will promote diversity through its artists, curators, and employees while ensuring that East End venues serve the entire community and not just a select few.
Gus Casely-Hayford is committed to expanding and diversifying the arts industry.
As the founding director of V&A East, one of the world’s most major new museum projects, and part of the mayor of London’s £1.1bn Olympic legacy initiative, he is aware that altering the canon will not be simple.
Casely-Hayford told, “There are difficulties in our country… Years of museum tradition centered on certain narratives.
“On a very conservative foundation, we must begin to construct new tales. Consider how we may effectively include viewpoints that may have been marginalized a generation ago.”
Located in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, V&A East will bring two brand-new arts venues to East London: a five-story, 7,000-square-meter museum on the waterfront, and a gigantic glass and brick storehouse with more than 250,000 curated artifacts on display.
Balenciaga inspired
The museum, based on an X-Ray of a Balenciaga ballgown and unofficially called “the crab,” will be part of a new cultural enclave collectively known as East Bank, nestled beside Sadler’s Wells dance theatre and UAL’s London College of Fashion.
In a society where many believe the arts are for the privileged few rather than the masses, Casely-Hayford asserts that his plan to showcase underrepresented voices is straightforward.
He stated, “These are our tax-funded parking spaces.” We should all receive the advantage.”
Casely-Hayford has brought a new perspective to the British art scene, having relocated from the United States to assume the position (he was formerly the director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art in Washington, DC).
“Art is one of the things we do better than anyone else,” he stated. The types of people who best represent us at the Oscars or in music are representative of the cultural diversity of our country.
“I would love it if in the museum sector we could truly embrace that and invest in it, and not just in terms of the art we display on our walls, but also in terms of the individuals that curate our spaces.”
The Worldwide South
Priority will be given to topics from the Global South – Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania – in the museum’s collection.
And, contrary to popular belief, Casely-Hayford feels that diversity is knit into the very fabric of what it is to be British.
“What makes me most proud is that we are a diverse nation,” he stated. You consider our national flag and the fact that we did not choose a tricolor.
“We chose a flag that illustrates our uniqueness and how we join together as a collection of distinct nations.” We welcome diversity and complexity, and we wish for our space to be able to communicate these experiences.
“All of this cultural complication, the tales of empire and enslavement, all of these challenging things. In addition, the transcendent tales of how creation can bring us together as one.
We can be a nation that celebrates excellence, goodness, and the things that inspire a new generation.
“A catalyst for transformation”
In addition to artists and curators, he asserts that the museum’s visitors and personnel must also be considered.
“We intend to construct this institution from the ground up, for and in collaboration with our local communities. We want it to match their requirements,” he explained.
“I hope that when it opens in 2025 and you enter our space, you will be greeted by people who reflect the cultural diversity of those who reside in and around this area.”
Not one to rest on his laurels, he has gotten on his bike to distribute news about the new spaces to secondary schools in the vicinity to speak with 100,000 young people.
He hopes that one of the children that enter the museum will one day have their work displayed on the walls or possibly take over his position.
As he explains, he wants the younger generation to view the creative industries as a viable job, “not from the outskirts, feeling like they’re on the periphery, but at the core of institutions like V&A East.”
Institutional accountability
Emerging artist Heather Agyepong asserts that the last two years have been transformative for black British art, affording her a position of authority as an artist for the first time.
She stated, “Since the assassination of George Floyd and the black uprisings, there has been a tremendous yearning and a sense of shame regarding the lack of black British art in collections.
“In 2020, all of these institutions made these astounding appeals and commitments to include more black British art. Two years later, I believe you can see that part of it was rather performative or for appearances.
“As an artist, I feel I can now hold those intuitions accountable for their claims, and I can ask them, ‘What are you doing to address your collections?’ What steps are being taken to ensure the involvement of black British artists?’
As an artist moving ahead, I feel extremely empowered today.
She admits that she was not always as knowledgeable of the rich tradition of the United Kingdom’s black artists.
She stated, “I completed an MA at Goldsmiths in 2013, and it was my first exposure to black British art; before that, I honestly did not know black British artists existed.
“My course coordinator, Paul Halliday, opened my eyes to the entirety of that movement. And I recall being surprised and wondering, “Why didn’t someone tell me this?” because I had always felt alone. Therefore, this seminar was quite helpful in comprehending our artistic legacy.”
“Small and tucked away”
She continues, about her newest exhibition, Ego Death, which features huge fabric triptychs, one of which was inspired by the Oscar-winning film Get Out, “There’s a feeling among black artists that we can’t take up space, that we have to be small and in the corner. Be somewhat apologetic.”
She states, “I wouldn’t be here without artists like Turner Prize-winner Lubaina Himid, Sonya Boyce, and Claudette Johnson, who rose to prominence during the 1980s UK Black Arts Movement (BAM)
Lisa Anderson, managing director of the Black Cultural Archives (BCA), similarly attributes her decision to pursue a career in the arts to the movement.
For her most recent exhibition, Transforming Legacies, which commemorates BAM’s 40th anniversary, she reassembled more than fifty artists of African and Caribbean descent to recreate the iconic A Great Day in Harlem photograph from 1958.
According to Anderson, enhancing representation across the board is contingent on teamwork.
“We require allies as well. “We need galleries, other scholars, institutions, and auction houses to collaborate with us so that they can validate and promote the growth of the work of these artists,” she stated.
Culture clashes
As government money has dwindled, the consistent support required to level the playing field for communities has diminished.
But in the face of adversity, Anderson is optimistic: “We’re in the midst of a culture war, with important government figures doubting the relevance of equality, inclusion, and diversity issues. Therefore, it is highly disorienting.
“However, I believe the impetus for focusing on artists from the African diaspora in a meaningful, inclusive manner is cause for optimism. I will collaborate with other organizations and significant leaders in the United Kingdom and beyond to ensure the sustainability of this initiative.
“It would be horrifying if, twenty years from now, we had to have a similar discussion. I do not wish for that to occur. I only wish for this conversation to grow.”
