NOTTINGHAM.- Salma Tuqan has been appointed as the new Director of Nottingham Contemporary. Salma will join Nottingham Contemporary in March 2023 from her current role as Deputy Director of Delfina Foundation, London where she has been developing the strategic vision of the organisation, growing its collaborative work and partnerships and shaping the foundation’s engagement with Latin America & the Caribbean, the African continent and MENASA regions.

Salma is a contemporary art and design curator and cultural strategist. Prior to joining Delfina Foundation she worked as the Contemporary Middle East Curator at the V&A for eight years, where she was responsible for Middle Eastern art and design programming at the museum, co-curated the biennial international Jameel Prize exhibition, and co-founded the Culture in Crisis programme which focuses on cultural heritage from the perspective of collective and individual action. She worked at Art Dubai from its inauguration in 2007 to 2011 as Head of Artists’ Projects, as well as Artistic Director of Contemparabia, a series of cultural itineraries for museum groups.




She has contributed to other projects as an independent curator and facilitator, including Palestine c/o Venice at the 53rd Venice Biennale (2009), the Wind Tunnel Project in Farnborough (2014) and Until my veins collapse at Mac Lyon (2022). She works closely with cultural organisations on strategy and is a committee member of the Santo Domingo Centre of Excellence for Latin American Research at the British Museum (London), Arab Image Foundation (Beirut), The Khatt Foundation (Amsterdam), Art on the Underground (London) and Rivers Institute (New Orleans), Strategic Advisor to NuMu (Guatemala City) and former trustee of the Crossway Foundation (London) and The Palestinian Museum (Birzeit).

Salma joins Nottingham Contemporary to lead the organisation at an important time with renewed funding from Arts Council England and an ambitious new delivery plan.

Matt Symonds, Chair of Nottingham Contemporary, said: "I am delighted that Salma Tuqan will become Director of Nottingham Contemporary. Salma's expertise in cultural leadership and international curatorial experience will bring a fresh perspective to our organisation, its programme, and to the city of Nottingham."

Salma Tuqan said: “I am excited to be joining Nottingham Contemporary and have always admired its collaborative spirit and open-ended research led approach. I’m grateful to be entrusted with stewarding the organisation’s next chapter and am looking forward to working with the team and board to build on its unique character and collectively imagine its future.”

Nottingham Contemporary is an international centre of contemporary art with a strong sense of local purpose. Since opening in 2009, we have held more than 80 exhibitions, with over 2 million visitors to date. We present innovative and interwoven programmes of international exhibitions, learning, partnerships, research and new commissions. We are committed to excellence, experimentation, ambition and innovation. Nottingham Contemporary was shortlisted for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2019. Nottingham Contemporary is supported from public funding by Arts Council England and is regularly funded by Nottingham City Council, Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham.

Nottingham Contemporary, Weekday Cross, Nottingham NG1 2GB, 0115 948 9750