Kimberly Drew had her breakthrough in the art world in 2011 with her Tumblr page @museummammy when the sector was dabbling with ways to implement social media as a communication strategy. This was also a moment when many institutions were finally coming face-to-face with massive holes in their white male-washed collections.

Drew’s account (which she started as an undergrad student at Smith College) documented contemporary Black art and demonstrated the possibilities of an alternative way of access in the industry. Since then she has held a social media manager role at The Met and authored the 2020 book This Is What I Know About Art. In 2022, Pace Gallery announced Drew as a curatorial director.

This August, Drew organized an ambitious exhibition of Gordon Parks at Pace’s Los Angeles outpost. The show featured around 40 images that included groundbreaking figures such as Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X and Duke Ellington, as well as everyday Black subjects.

Here, she looks back at 2024 and considers what to expect from the year ahead.

Assemblage by Ser Serpas at the 2024 Whitney Biennial. Photo by Ben Davis.

What moment or project stands out as a personal highlight of 2024?

After 13 years of working in the field, I finally curated my first institutional exhibition. I had the incredible opportunity to collaborate with The Gordon Parks Foundation to mount a show surveying Parks’ work at Pace’s Los Angeles gallery. This project is one of the proudest moments of my career.

What was the best show you saw in your local city in 2024?

2024 was an extraordinary year for New York’s cultural institutions. My favorite exhibitions were “Grace Wales Bonner: Spirit Movers” at MoMA and The Whitney Biennial. Choosing one feels impossible and almost criminal.

Tell us about the best show you saw abroad in 2024.

The “Zanele Muholi” exhibition at Tate was, without question, one of the best shows I’ve seen in years.

What are you looking forward to most in 2025?

Given our current political realities, I’m deeply apprehensive about the year ahead. It feels disingenuous to romanticize or overlook the challenges we are likely to face. Instead of looking forward, I’m bracing myself and preparing to bear down.

If you could see one change in the art world next year, what would it be?

I want to see more courage. The years 2023 and 2024 were marked by pervasive and, at times, sinister cowardice. My hope is that 2025 will be a year of remedying this through bold, compassionate, and fearless action.

What is the one piece of advice you would give yourself at this time last year?

Invest in another portable power bank for your phone—you’ll thank yourself later.

Who is the art professional you have your eye on for 2025, and why?

Thiago de Paula Souza! Thiago is a brilliant, thoughtful, and ambitious curator whose work continues to inspire. I’m eagerly counting down the days until I can experience this year’s São Paulo Biennial and celebrate the incredible efforts of the curatorial team working tirelessly to bring it to fruition.