LONDON.- Goodman Gallery announced the appointment of Jo Stella-Sawicka as the Director of its London gallery opening in Autumn 2019. Jo joins the gallery after nearly nine years in the leadership team at Frieze, during a period of the fair’s significant growth.

Liza Essers, Owner & Director of Goodman Gallery says, “I am thrilled to welcome Jo to the Goodman Gallery team. Jo’s experience working with contemporary African and Diasporic artists, combined with her reputation as a master-collaborator, bringing people together across the art world to make major projects possible, makes her a natural fit for Goodman Gallery and a great leader for the London team. While being firmly rooted in London, Jo brings vast knowledge and experience of the international art scene and shares the gallery’s vision in addressing broader social issues facing society, as evidenced in the initiatives she has championed in recent years, bringing attention to globally overlooked artists and particularly to women.”

Jo Stella-Sawicka says, “It is an honour to join Goodman Gallery – one of the longest standing contemporary galleries in the world. Working with the team and with Liza Essers in particular at Frieze fairs, I have long admired the gallery programme which deftly combines some of the most significant global positions alongside breaking new talent appearing from the African continent. Goodman will contribute a vital new voice to the London gallery scene and make an impact on the global conversation.”

As Artistic Director at Frieze, Jo was responsible for Europe, the Middle East, Russia and Africa. In this time, Jo launched Frieze Sculpture and critically acclaimed curated sections and prizes at Frieze London, including; The 90s, Sex Work, and Social Work. She established new prizes and funds alongside the TATE frieze fund to support regional museums with the CAS Acquisition Fund at Frieze and the Camden Arts Centre Emerging Artist Prize, which delivers an international artist’s first milestone institutional exhibition in London. In 2018 she launched the Frieze Debate – an ongoing collaboration with the BBC and broadcast on BBC R3 during Frieze Week.

At Goodman Gallery Jo will oversee the global roster and programming at its location at 26 Cork Street, London. The gallery maintains its existing spaces in Johannesburg and Cape Town, owned and directed by Liza Essers.

Goodman Gallery’s roster of top global artists includes Candice Breitz, Alfredo Jaar, William Kentridge, Shirin Neshat and the late David Goldblatt; alongside a new generation of core contemporary names from Africa and the Diaspora, such as Kudzanai Chuirai, Kiluanji Kia Henda, Grada Kilomba, Kapwani Kiwanga, and Tabita Rezaire.