Amy Sadao, Daniel W. Dietrich, II Director at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania announced today the appointment of Daniella Rose King as the Whitney-Lauder Curatorial Fellow, effective immediately. King is a London-born writer, curator, and producer concerned with the social history of art, particularly when it brings to light forgotten, oppressed or difficult histories, moments of struggle, and spaces of resistance. In her yearlong fellowship, King will further ICA’s mission of presenting innovative exhibitions that shed light on important but under-recognized artists.

“We are thrilled to welcome Daniella to the curatorial team at ICA, where her commitment to underrepresented and unorthodox artists makes her an ideal fit,” says Sadao. “I look forward to seeing what her sharp vision will bring to the table in the coming year.”

The Whitney-Lauder Curatorial Fellowship offers a unique professional experience for alumni of the Whitney Independent Study Program (ISP). The fellowship was initiated in 2000 through the generosity of Leonard A. Lauder, whose vision has linked ICA and the Whitney ISP for more than fifteen years. An integral part of the curatorial team at ICA, the Fellow conducts research and produces a curatorial project, programming, and a publication. The position has provided intensive curatorial experience and served as a transformational moment in the careers of young curators, among them Bennett Simpson, Tanya Leighton, Naomi Beckwith, and Lucy Gallun.

ABOUT DANIELLA ROSE KING

Prior to joining ICA as the Whitney-Lauder Curatorial Fellow, King was a independent curator based in New York, where she worked with Naaem Mohaiemen on the documenta 14 commissions Two Meetings and a Funeral and Tripoli Cancelled, and artist Simone Leigh as curatorial researcher for her New Museum exhibition and residency “The Waiting Room,” and Tate Modern project “Psychic Friends Network.” In 2017 she curated “On Visibility and Camouflage: Black Women Artists for BLM” at We Buy Gold in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and was the 2015-16 Whitney Independent Study Program Helena Rubinstein Curatorial Fellow. King has contributed to exhibition catalogues, magazines, journals, and online platforms, including the Studio Museum in Harlem 2017 Artist in Residence Brochure, Ocula Magazine, Frieze, Art-Agenda, Art Monthly, Ibraaz, Harpers Bazaar Art, New African Magazine, Contemporary And, Portal 9 Journal, and Nafas Art Magazine. In 2014, King co-founded the curatorial collective DAM Projects. DAM use temporary exhibitions and events to support emerging, underexposed and unorthodox artists, art scenes, discourses and debates. The inaugural program Sunday School ran from 2014-15 and featured six solo shows from recent UK art school graduates and six exhibitions looking at emerging international art scenes.

ABOUT THE INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ART AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

The Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania is a non-collecting institution presenting exhibitions at the forefront of contemporary practice and culture that challenge audiences to think in new ways. The ICA is free for all to engage and connect with the art of our time. Since its founding in 1963, ICA has served as a laboratory for the new, introducing and supporting the production of urgent and important contemporary art, beginning with ICA’s inaugural show of paintings by Abstract Expressionist Clyfford Still, followed by the first museum show of works by Andy Warhol in 1965. Throughout its history, ICA has been instrumental in identifying and developing many promising artists before they attained prominence in the international art world, some of whom include—in addition to Warhol—Laurie Anderson, Richard Artschwager, Vija Celmins, Karen Kilimnik, Alex Da Corte, Glenn Ligon, Robert Mapplethorpe, Agnes Martin, Rodney McMillian, Barbara Kasten, and Cy Twombly.