The Art That Made Me: Thelma Golden

For The Art That Made Me, Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator of ‪@studiomuseum‬ sits down with curator and writer Ekow Eshun to reflect on the influences—from literature and music to the pop culture of her childhood—that have shaped her vision. A native New Yorker, Thelma Golden is one of the most influential curators and museum leaders of her generation. Shortly after graduating from Smith College, in Northampton, Massachusetts, Golden began working at the Studio Museum in Harlem and then joined the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1988. During her decade there, she organized several seminal exhibitions, including the landmark "Black Male: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary Art" in 1994. A longtime champion of Black art and artists, she has helped re-shape the landscape of contemporary art not only in the United States but around the world. Golden returned to the Studio Museum in 2000 and now serves as its Ford Foundation Director and Chief Curator, leading the museum as a globally recognized home for artists of African descent and a vital cultural anchor in Harlem. Last fall, the museum opened a celebrated new building after a seven-year construction project that yielded the first purpose-built home in the institution's fifty-seven-year history. The Art That Made Me, an editorial series created in partnership between Genesis and Ursula, initiates dialogues among leading artists and visionaries, illuminating the critical inquiries and reflections that are foundational to their practice. Ursula is a magazine of contemporary culture by Hauser & Wirth. – Hauser & Wirth is an international contemporary and modern art gallery with spaces in Zurich, London, Somerset, New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, St. Moritz, Monaco, Menorca, Paris and Basel. – Subscribe to Hauser & Wirth’s YouTube:    / @hauserwirth   Sign up to Hauser & Wirth’s Newsletter: hauserwirth.com/subscribe Follow Hauser & Wirth on:   / hauserwirth     / hauserwirth     / hauserwirth