New Chief Curator for Whitechapel Gallery

The Whitechapel gallery announced today that Lydia Yee has been appointed chief curator. She will be replacing Magnus af Petersens who is moving to the Modern Museet, Stockholm as the museum’s head of collection. Yee will assume her new role in February 2015.

Yee has been curator at the Barbican Art Gallery since 2007. Prior to joining the Barbican, she was senior curator at the Bronx Museum of the Arts in New York. She won the Emily Hall Tremaine Exhibition Award in 2006 and in 2003 she was the Cassullo Fellow at the Whitney Museum of Art Independent Study Program.

Yee said in a statement: “I am very honored to be joining the Whitechapel Gallery, which has long been a reference point for me as a curator. Its diverse and adventurous exhibitions of contemporary and modern art and critically engaging publications have been hugely influential,” adding that continuing to push the institution’s international outlook would be a priority during her tenure.

Director, Iwona Blazwich said, “We are delighted that Lydia Yee is joining the Whitechapel Gallery. She has an incredible ability to bring key moments of art history to life, while illumination the work of contemporary figures, and we look forward to welcoming her to the artist’s gallery for everyone.”


Follow Artnet News on Facebook:


Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.