The Whitworth, which is part of the University of Manchester, has appointed Sook-Kyung Lee as its new director. Lee joins from Tate Modern in London, where she was senior curator of international art. She has led the Hyundai Tate Research Centre, a major research initiative in partnership with Hyundai Motor, since 2019. She was also the artistic director of the latest 14th Gwangju Biennale, which opened this April.
While at Tate Modern, Lee curated major exhibitions including Nam June Paik (2019-20), which toured across Europe, the United States and Asia. She also helped to shape Tate’s international art collection strategy with initiatives such as the Asia Pacific Acquisitions Committee and the co-acquisition programme with Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia.
Lee will take up her new role at the Whitworth in August 2023, and will also become Honorary Professor of Transcultural Curating at the University. Sook-Kyung- Lee stated, ‘I have admired the Whitworth’s commitment to work with local communities and to use art for positive social change. I would like to further develop the gallery in its artistic rigour and social impacts and to widen its global connections.’
