For the very first time, the National Gallery in London is partnering with the Whitworth to showcase the masterful work of Wangechi Mutu. This major curatorial project forges a unique link between classical heritage and contemporary brilliance, at the heart of an exceptional transnational collaboration.
An institutional dialogue between London and Manchester
The National Gallery in London has selected Wangechi Mutu for its second edition of the Contemporary Fellowship. This biennial program, organized in partnership with the Art Fund, is being carried out this time in collaboration with the Whitworth at the University of Manchester. This announcement places a major figure in the contemporary art scene at the heart of a rare institutional dialogue, where historical collections meet today’s creative practices.
This initiative is far from trivial. It builds on the National Gallery’s Modern and Contemporary Programme, which aims to foster dialogue between living artists and its prestigious collections. The ambition is as simple as it is demanding: to confront centuries-old works with new perspectives capable of revealing their blind spots or offering fresh interpretations.
The culmination of this project will be an exhibition in London scheduled for October 9, 2027, to February 6, 2028, before moving to the Whitworth in the spring of 2028.
An aesthetic between Nairobi and Brooklyn
Born in Nairobi in 1972, Wangechi Mutu has established her signature style through a multidisciplinary practice blending painting, sculpture, film, and performance. Dividing her time between Brooklyn and the Kenyan capital for over twenty years, she has built a powerful body of work where the female body, the art of collage, and speculative fiction intertwine to challenge dominant narratives.
Her work has long scrutinized the representations imposed on Black women. Appropriating figures from art history—Madonnas, goddesses, or mythical mothers—she transposes them into worlds imbued with Afrofuturism, science fiction, and landscapes of poetic fragility. This unique visual vocabulary has earned her recognition far beyond the confines of museums, captivating an international audience.
For her first institutional exhibition in the United Kingdom, the National Gallery highlights that the artist will develop an entirely new series of works, which will be the subject of a dedicated catalog.
The Whitworth: A Catalyst for New Narratives
The Whitworth’s involvement is not merely a scheduling detail. This Manchester institution champions an international program and collections deliberately open to contemporary reinterpretations. Its partnership with the National Gallery is part of a broader initiative aimed at decentralizing artistic narratives, as evidenced by its upcoming exhibitions ranging from Delaine Le Bas to Yuki Kihara, including a show dedicated to Hokusai and Hiroshige.
For the Whitworth, this grant program reinforces a long-standing ambition: to establish Manchester as a hub where exhibitions do more than simply display works, but actively reassemble and reinterpret our cultural heritage. Behind the requisite institutional vocabulary lies an effort to shift the focus away from the British capital without abandoning the grand narratives that shape the history of national art.
The crucial challenge of this collaboration lies in this fluidity of exchange, a true bridge between collections, audiences, and cultural geographies.
A forward-looking patronage
Wangechi Mutu succeeds Nalini Malani, the first recipient of this prestigious fellowship. According to the National Gallery, this inaugural edition drew record-breaking crowds in both London and Bath. Supported by the Art Fund and LG Electronics, this program demonstrates that public-private partnerships remain a key driver of the contemporary art scene in the United Kingdom.
Jenny Waldman, director of the Art Fund, praises Wangechi Mutu’s ability to offer new perspectives on both historical art and contemporary practices. Sook-Kyung Lee, director of the Whitworth, emphasizes the fundamentally transnational nature of this project and the museum’s commitment to reaching new audiences.
The major challenge, however, remains: ensuring that this partnership does not amount to a mere juxtaposition of prestigious works. The true value of these residency programs lies not solely in the production of artworks, but in their power to transform our perspective and our interaction with the creative process. It is precisely here that the immense success of this initiative will be measured.