Thelma Golden
Museum director and curator Thelma Golden was born on September 22, 1965 in Queens, New York. In 1983, she graduated from the New Lincoln School, where she trained as a curatorial apprentice at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in her senior year. In 1987, she earned her B.A. degree in art history and African American studies from Smith College.
Golden worked first as a curatorial intern at the Studio Museum in Harlem in 1987, then as a curatorial assistant at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1988. From 1989 to 1991, she worked as the visual arts director for the Jamaica Arts Center in Queens, New York, where she curated eight shows. Golden was then appointed branch director of the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Philip Morris branch in 1991 and curator of the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1996. While at the Whitney, she organized numerous groundbreaking exhibitions, including the 1993 Whitney Biennial and 1994’s Black Male: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary American Art. She also organized Bob Thompson: A Retrospective (1998), Heart, Mind, Body, Soul: New Work from the Collection (1998), and Hindsight: Recent Work from the Permanent Collection (1999). Golden also presented projects by artists Alison Saar, Glenn Ligon, Gary Simmons, Romare Bearden, Matthew McCaslin, Suzanne McClelland, Lorna Simpson, Jacob Lawrence, and Leone & MacDonald. She also worked as the special projects curator for contemporary art collectors Peter Norton and Eileen Harris Norton from 1998 to 2000. Golden returned to the Studio Museum in Harlem in 2000, where she was named deputy director for exhibitions and programs, and director and chief curator in 2005. Golden organized numerous exhibitions at the Studio Museum, including Isaac Julien: Vagabondia (2000); Martin Puryear: The Cane Project (2000); Glenn Ligon: Stranger (2001); Freestyle (2001); Black Romantic: The Figurative Impulse in Contemporary Art (2002); harlemworld: Metropolis as Metaphor (2004); Chris Ofili: Afro Muses (2005); Frequency (2005–2006); Africa Comics (2006–2007); and Kori Newkirk: 1997–2007 (2007–2008). Golden also lectured at several institutions, including Columbia University, Yale University, and the Royal College of Art in London. In addition, she contributed essays about Lorna Simpson, Carrie Mae Weems, Bill T. Jones, Kara Walker, and Glenn Ligon to various publications.
Golden received honorary degrees from Moore College of Art and Design, Smith College, and the San Francisco Art Institute. In 2008, she was a member of the advisory team of the Whitney Biennial; and in 2007, a juror for the UK Turner Prize. Golden served on the graduate committee for Bard College’s Center for Curatorial Studies, and on the boards of Creative Time in New York and the Institute of International Visual Arts in London. In 2016, she was awarded the Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence.
Golden is married to London fashion designer Duro Olowu.
Thelma Golden was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on August 9, 2016.
A2016.006
Female
08/09/2016
Golden
Married
Ann
Buckley Country Day School
New Lincoln School
Smith College
Thelma
St. Albans, Queens
GOL04
Fall
New York
None
Fantastic

New York
9/22/1965
New York
United States
Mangoes
Museum director and curator Thelma Golden (1965 - ) became the director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem in 2005, having served as a curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art in the 1990s.
Studio Museum in Harlem
Whitney Museum of American Art - Phillip Morris Branch
Peter Norton and Eileen Harris Norton
Jamaica Arts Center
Red
Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Thelma Golden's interview
Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Thelma Golden lists her favorites
Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Thelma Golden describes her father's family background, pt. 1
Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Thelma Golden describes her father's family background, pt. 2
Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Thelma Golden describes her father's family background, pt. 3
Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Thelma Golden talks about her father's parenting style
Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Thelma Golden describes her mother's family background
Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Thelma Golden recalls how her parents met
Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Thelma Golden describes her earliest childhood memory
Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Thelma Golden describes her mother as a young adult
Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Thelma Golden talks about the closeness of her mother's immediate family
Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Thelma Golden describes her neighborhood in St. Albans in Queens, New York
Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Thelma Golden describes the sights, sounds and smells of her childhood
Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Thelma Golden recalls the way in which she and her brother were raised
Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Thelma Golden describes her mother's parenting style
Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Thelma Golden remembers the relationship between her mother and paternal grandmother
Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Thelma Golden describes her childhood personality
Tape: 2 Story: 9 - Thelma Golden talks about the black Presbyterian Church
Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Thelma Golden talks about her parents' social and political ideologies
Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Thelma Golden describes her experiences at Buckley Country Day School in Roslyn, New York
Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Thelma Golden describes the Buckley Country Day School
Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Thelma Golden talks about her favorite subjects
Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Thelma Golden describes the films 'Mahogany' and 'The Wiz'
Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Thelma Golden recalls her early interest in art history
Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Thelma Golden describes the New Lincoln School in New York City
Tape: 3 Story: 8 - Thelma Golden talks about her exposure to the art world in high school
Tape: 3 Story: 9 - Thelma Golden describes her experiences at the New Lincoln School
Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Thelma Golden describes her decision to attend Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts
Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Thelma Golden remembers her professor, Walter Morris-Hale, at Smith College
Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Thelma Golden recalls her internship at the Studio Museum in Harlem
Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Thelma Golden describes her relationship with James Baldwin
Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Thelma Golden talks about James Baldwin's influence in her life
Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Thelma Golden recalls her summer retail jobs
Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Thelma Golden describes her curatorial fellowship at the Studio Museum in Harlem, pt. 1
Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Thelma Golden describes her curatorial fellowship at the Studio Museum in Harlem, pt. 2
Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Thelma Golden remembers Harlem, New York in the 1980s and 1990s
Tape: 5 Story: 3 - Thelma Golden recalls her interview at the Whitney Museum of American Art
Tape: 5 Story: 4 - Thelma Golden describes her role at the Whitney Museum of American Art, pt. 1
Tape: 5 Story: 5 - Thelma Golden describes her role at the Whitney Museum of American Art, pt. 2
Tape: 5 Story: 6 - Thelma Golden talks about the role of curators
Tape: 5 Story: 7 - Thelma Golden recalls working with Kellie Jones at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning
Tape: 5 Story: 8 - Thelma Golden describes the Whitney Museum of American Art at Philip Morris
Tape: 6 Story: 1 - Thelma Golden remembers the artists exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art at Philip Morris
Tape: 6 Story: 2 - Thelma Golden describes her relationship with Raymond J. McGuire
Tape: 6 Story: 3 - Thelma Golden recalls working at the Whitney Museum of American Art at Philip Morris
Tape: 6 Story: 4 - Thelma Golden recalls her role as associate curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art
Tape: 6 Story: 5 - Thelma Golden describes the retrospective exhibition of Bob Thompson's work
Tape: 6 Story: 6 - Thelma Golden remembers the work of Lowery Stokes Sims
Tape: 6 Story: 7 - Thelma Golden describes the ideas and influences of 'Black Male'
Tape: 6 Story: 8 - Thelma Golden remembers the public response to her exhibition, 'Black Male'
Tape: 7 Story: 1 - Thelma Golden recalls her parents' reactions to 'Black Male,' pt. 1
Tape: 7 Story: 2 - Thelma Golden recalls her parents' reactions to 'Black Male,' pt. 2
Tape: 7 Story: 3 - Thelma Golden remembers her colleagues' support of 'Black Male'
Tape: 7 Story: 4 - Thelma Golden remembers the media's critique to 'Black Male'
Tape: 7 Story: 5 - Thelma Golden talks about the importance of the 'Black Male' exhibition
Tape: 7 Story: 6 - Thelma Golden remembers her work at the Whitney Museum of American Art
Tape: 8 Story: 1 - Thelma Golden recalls working with Lowery Stokes Sims at the Studio Museum in Harlem, pt. 1
Tape: 8 Story: 2 - Thelma Golden recalls working with Lowery Stokes Sims at the Studio Museum in Harlem, pt. 2
Tape: 8 Story: 3 - Thelma Golden remembers the board members at the Studio Museum in Harlem
Tape: 8 Story: 4 - Thelma Golden talks about Lowery Stokes Sims' leadership at the Studio Museum in Harlem
Tape: 8 Story: 5 - Thelma Golden describes the 'Freestyle' exhibition at the Studio Museum in Harlem
Tape: 8 Story: 6 - Thelma Golden recalls meeting artist Mark Bradford
Tape: 8 Story: 7 - Thelma Golden remembers her relationship with artist Glenn Ligon
Tape: 8 Story: 8 - Thelma Golden describes her relationship with artist Lorna Simpson
Tape: 9 Story: 1 - Thelma Golden talks about her working relationship with artists
Tape: 9 Story: 2 - Thelma Golden describes the exhibitions and programs at the Studio Museum in Harlem
Tape: 9 Story: 3 - Thelma Golden talks about the space of the Studio Museum in Harlem
Tape: 9 Story: 4 - Thelma Golden recalls her transition to director of the Studio Museum in Harlem
Tape: 9 Story: 5 - Thelma Golden describes her role as director of the Studio Museum in Harlem
Tape: 9 Story: 6 - Thelma Golden remembers her art mentors, pt. 1
Tape: 9 Story: 7 - Thelma Golden remembers her art mentors, pt. 2
Tape: 9 Story: 8 - Thelma Golden describes her fundraising responsibilities
Tape: 10 Story: 1 - Thelma Golden talks about presence of the Studio Museum in Harlem in the community
Tape: 10 Story: 2 - Thelma Golden reflects upon her accomplishments at the Studio Museum in Harlem
Tape: 10 Story: 3 - Thelma Golden talks about the proposed expansion to the Studio Museum in Harlem
Tape: 10 Story: 4 - Thelma Golden talks about her goals for the Studio Museum in Harlem
Tape: 10 Story: 5 - Thelma Golden describes the post-black art movement, pt. 1
Tape: 10 Story: 6 - Thelma Golden describes the post-black art movement, pt. 2
Tape: 10 Story: 7 - Thelma Golden reflects upon the art world during the 2016 Presidential Election
Tape: 10 Story: 8 - Thelma Golden describes how she met her husband, pt. 1
Tape: 10 Story: 9 - Thelma Golden describes how she met her husband, pt. 2
Tape: 11 Story: 1 - Thelma Golden talks about her long-distance marriage, pt. 1
Tape: 11 Story: 2 - Thelma Golden talks about her long-distance marriage, pt. 2
Tape: 11 Story: 3 - Thelma Golden describes her husband's cultural background
Tape: 11 Story: 4 - Thelma Golden talks about her fellowship at the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C.
Tape: 11 Story: 5 - Thelma Golden describes her work with the Obama Administration, pt. 1
Tape: 11 Story: 6 - Thelma Golden describes her work with the Obama Administration, pt. 2
Tape: 11 Story: 7 - Thelma Golden remembers attending President Barack Obama's state dinner
Tape: 11 Story: 8 - Thelma Golden describes Peggy Cooper Cafritz
Tape: 11 Story: 9 - Thelma Golden talks about her relationships with women in the art world
Tape: 12 Story: 1 - Thelma Golden talks about her maternal figures
Tape: 12 Story: 2 - Thelma Golden reflects upon the work of Maya Angelou
Tape: 12 Story: 3 - Thelma Golden shares her goals for the future
Tape: 12 Story: 4 - Thelma Golden describes her hopes and concerns for the African American community
Tape: 12 Story: 5 - Thelma Golden reflects upon her legacy
Tape: 12 Story: 6 - Thelma Golden narrates her photographs, pt. 1
Tape: 12 Story: 7 - Thelma Golden narrates her photographs, pt. 2
Tape: 13 Story: 1 - Thelma Golden narrates her photographs, pt. 3
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