5. The Curator: Ashleigh McClean
It would be frivolous to label Ashleigh McClean as only “The curator.” Sure, that is her official title, but being part of Cape Town’s What if the World Gallery has meant that the UCT Michaelis graduate has donned many other titles. Besides co-directing one of South Africa’s leading galleries, McClean also assists in the art direction of its catalogues and scouts for new talent for Cape Town establishment, which features artists such as Nigerian photographer Lakin Ogunbanwo and video artist Bogosi Sekhukhuni, to name a few. When asked what her 2014 highlights were, McClean mentions her work with gallery artist and this year’s Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year winner for performance art, Athi-Patra Ruga. “I’d definitely say it was working very closely with Athi on what I think has been his most ambitious exhibition to date: The Future White Women of Azania Saga and co-producing a performance with him at the MoMA Gallery in San Francisco." Chatting about researching for artists for the gallery in the new year, she says, “one of my mandates for 2015 is to look further afield; towards the diaspora; people working in the states or the UK with a connection to Africa but who might not already be established. The gallery usually looks at emerging names with an African connection.”
