Creating Inclusive Cultural Spaces: How Salma Tuqan is Transforming Arts Institution Leadership

In this episode, Ceri talks about cultural curation with Salma Tuqan, Director of Nottingham Contemporary. From her early days at Art Dubai to influential roles at the V&A and beyond, Salma shares her views on how cultural institutions can evolve, adapt, and remain relevant in challenging times. Salma explores everything from collection strategies to institutional sustainability while highlighting the importance of collective effort and generosity in creating inclusive cultural spaces.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Salma's leadership philosophy focuses on building collective effort, demonstrated through her work at Nottingham Contemporary where she leads a team of 70, prioritising collaborative decision making and community input.
• Throughout her career at the V&A, Salma challenged traditional museum structures by working to integrate Middle Eastern art across departments rather than isolating it, showing her commitment to breaking down institutional silos.
• Drawing from her Palestinian heritage and early exposure to diverse cultural practices, Salma approaches curation with an understanding that Western categorisations of art aren't universal.
• In her role at the Delfina Foundation, Salma developed innovative funding models for under resourced regions, creating pools of resources from multiple small contributions to support artists from areas like Central America.
• At Nottingham Contemporary, Salma prioritises long term artist relationships over one off exhibitions, allowing creative partnerships to evolve naturally from small collaborations to major shows.
• Rather than arriving with preset plans at new institutions, Salma's approach is to first listen and understand the existing ecosystem before developing strategies collaboratively.
• Through projects like "While We Wait," Salma demonstrates her commitment to considering the afterlife of exhibitions and ensuring local communities can access the art they inspire.
• As a director facing multiple contemporary challenges, Salma emphasises the importance of maintaining joy as a form of resistance while building solidarity networks with other cultural leaders.

BEST MOMENTS

"I'm a big believer in collectively working, and that's a big part of the ethos of my leadership style as well. I believe that things happen with people."

"When we look around the world and with everything that's at stake, there's never been a moment where the role of institutions is as important as it is."

"There's a lot of focus around the public facing aspect of institutions, particularly thinking about the artistic program and what does that mean when you're platforming artists who are talking about labour issues and simultaneously cutting the hours of the lowest paid workers."

"I think joy is also a key form of resistance too."

"The V&A is a huge entity, a huge institution, and I spent a lot of time developing relationships first and listening to people."

"I really believe that the best work happens and is developed collectively."

EPISODE RESOURCES

Guest Links:

www.salmatuqan.com

Instagram: @stuqan

PODCAST HOST BIO

With over 30 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

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