AWITA Honours Cultural Leaders
May 2026
Announcing AWITA Honours Leaders in Culture 2026; 25 women nominated by a global network of art leaders to be recognised at a breafast at SMAC Venice.
AWITA Honours Leaders in Culture, recognises 25 cultural leaders defined by three core pillars: Generosity & Stewardship, Visionary Perspective, and Impact & Legacy.
Sigrid Kirk, Director AWITA said “At a moment when the art world converges, our 2026 Honourees represent a standard of practice for a positive future - leadership that is generous, visionary, and accountable. By connecting this group through AWITA’s wider programme, we are building a network that not only leads, but actively sustains and strengthens the field around it.”
The 2026 Honourees are:
Aya Al-Bakree, CEO of Diriyah Biennale Foundation; Manal Al Dowayan, Artist; Nana Oforiatta Ayim, Writer and Founder and Director of ANO Institute of Arts & Knowledge; Alia Al-Senussi, Global Cultural Expert; Sarah Arison, President of Arison Arts Foundation; Iwona Blazwick, Curator and Writer; Antonia Carver, Director of Art Jameel; Marisa Chearavanont, Social Entrepreneur and Philanthropist; Jamile Coelho, Artistic Director of the Museu Nacional da Cultura Afro-Brasileira; Tera DuVernay, Deputy Director of Museum and Memorial Operations for Equal Justice Initiative; Mai Eldib, Cultural Strategist and Art Advisor; Dr. Madeleine Haddon, Senior Curator of V&A East; Maja Hoffmann, President of LUMA Foundation; Candice Hopkins, Executive Director and Chief Curator at the Forge Project; Sharlene Khan, Visual Artist and Creative Researcher; Kiran Nadar, Chairperson, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art; Oluremi C. Onabanjo, The Peter Schub Curator of Photography at The Museum of Modern Art; Julie Rouart, Director of Art at Flammarion; Nadia Samdani MBE, Co-Founder and President of the Samdani Art Foundation and Director of Dhaka Art Summit; Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Contemporary Art Collector, Founder and President of the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo; Nancy Spector, Curator and Writer; Karole Vail, Director of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and Guggenheim Foundation Director for Italy; Sumayya Vally, Architect and Founder and Principal of Counterspace; Gayane Umerova, Chairperson of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF); Marie-Cécile Zinsou, President of Fondation Zinsou.
Selected by an international nominating committee made up of Nadia Samdani (Co-Founder and President of the Samdani Art Foundation and Director of Dhaka Art Summit (DAS), Kimberly Drew (Writer, Curator, Lecturer, and Cultural Critic), Melissa Gronlund (Writer on Art and Cultural Heritage), Valeria Napoleone (Collector & Patron), Jessica Silverman (Founder, Jessica Silverman Gallery), Lang Xiao (Founder & Director, ARTouch Consulting), Same Mdluli (Senior Specialist, Curator & Manager, Standard Bank Gallery & Standard Bank Art Lab), Camille Morineau (Curator and Founder AWARE: Archives of Women Artists), and Sarah Harrelson (Editor-in-Chief and Founder, CULTURED Magazine), the honourees represent a truly global network of leadership, spanning the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.
Selections were made in collaboration with AWITA’s Executive Committee: Katharine Arnold, Christie's Vice Chairman, 20th & 21st Century Art, Europe, Jo Baring, Director, Ingram Collection, Alia Al-Senussi, Cultural strategist, patron of the arts, academic and lecturer, Beth Greenacre, Independent Curator and Adviser, Gillian McVey, PR and Communications Strategist, Dr Helen Pheby, Head of Culture, Heritage and Sport, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Jo Stella-Sawicka, Director, Goodman Gallery and Maria Sukkar, Collector, Philanthropist and Life Coach - whose ongoing work continues to shape AWITA’s mission and expanding international reach
Marking AWITA’s 10th anniversary year, the Honours initiative highlights the organisation’s role in expanding visibility and driving equity for women working within the arts. As Venice becomes a focal point for the international art world during the Biennale, the 2026 Honours brings into focus the individuals whose leadership is redefining cultural infrastructures and future narratives.
The AWITA Honours Leaders in Culture ceremony will take place at a breakfast event at SMAC San Marco Art Centre on 5 May 2026. If members of the press would like to attend, please email Alison at alison@pelhamcommunications.com.
About SMAC Venice
SMAC Venice (San Marco Art Centre) opened in Piazza San Marco in May 2025. Each year, it presents a vibrant program of exhibitions spanning art, design, fashion, and film, inviting both specialists and the wider public to discover new ideas.
Located inside the Procuratie on Piazza San Marco, the centre occupies a landmark building restored by Pritzker Prize–winning architect David Chipperfield and reimagined as a hub for culture and social inclusion. SMAC Venice’s location has been made possible due to a landmark agreement with Generali, the owner of the Procuratie. The third floor also houses the Home of the Human Safety Net and its interactive exhibition, A World of Potential.
Across 16 galleries, SMAC Venice explores unexpected perspectives, challenges convention, and asks rigorous questions about contemporary visual culture and its connections to history, science, philosophy, and society. Experimental in spirit, it tests traditional models of exhibition-making and welcomes collaboration, offering artists and institutions a platform in Venice. At its core is the belief that the arts are essential to human experience and to the vitality of cities and communities.