Stuart Hall Library collection. Image: Carlos Jiménez, 2018.
Iniva’s Director and Chief Curator Melanie Keen will leave Iniva at the end of September 2019 to join the Wellcome Collection as its new director. While we shall certainly miss her, Iniva’s board and team congratulates her on the appointment and wishes her well.
Melanie joined Iniva in 2015 during challenging times, working closely with the Iniva team to stabilise the organisation; securing ACE NPO funding for four years 2018-2022, establishing a new patrons scheme and revitalising Iniva’s mission and vision which has made the Stuart Hall Library the critical and creative hub of our work.
Over the last four years, Melanie has developed new partnerships with collaborators including Barbican Art Gallery, Bluecoat, Manchester Art Gallery, Art Fund, Art on The Underground, Art Night, Wysing Arts Centre and University of the Arts London. These partnerships have been central to developing an exciting artistic programme and are helping to create new opportunities that continue to develop artists and curators who better reflect the breadth of contemporary society.
In the last two years, Melanie’s vision has been fundamental to Iniva’s relocation to John Islip Street and the refurbishment to create a new architect-designed space for the Stuart Hall Library. With the re-opening of the Library, we are closer to achieving our ambition to create a world-class centre for research into contemporary art and culture that gives space to visual art which examines life through the complex lens of race, class and gender.
We are delighted that, with Melanie’s leadership, Iniva has secured significant funding from Art Fund to help deliver a national commissioning to collect project that will be delivered in partnership with three major museum and gallery partners over the next three years. Manchester Art Gallery will be our partner in year one with the first artist’s commission initiated at the end of this year.
Iniva’s trustees remain committed to delivering an artistic programme that reflects on the social and political impact of globalisation, building on the achievements of the past years. We will shortly be advertising the post of Director and are confident that we will secure a talented individual to take forward Melanie’s achievements, and progress the development of the Stuart Hall Library and Archive.
Anita Bhalla, Chair
On behalf of the Trustees of Iniva