Welcome to the Alt Power 100 Artlyst 2023/2024, an exclusive exploration of influential figures reshaping the contemporary art and cultural landscape. Within this dynamic List, we transcend the confines of traditional power dynamics, directing our focus towards individuals who wield influence through less conventional avenues, innovative expressions, and groundbreaking ideas.
The Alt Power 100 Artlyst is a vibrant celebration of those who defy the norm, challenge established narratives, and serve as beacons for transformative change within the art world and beyond. From avant-garde artists pushing boundaries to visionary curators shaping new perspectives, from cultural provocateurs challenging norms to tech trailblazers forging the future – this List embodies diverse voices steering us into a new era of artistic expression.
As always, the Alt Power 100 Artlyst brings a clear and fresh perspective to the table, honouring the known faces of our industry while championing the personalities behind the scenes, curating, organising, and helping to enrich and educate our communities.
Paul Carter Robinson Artlyst CEO – Sara Faith Associate Editor
Alt Power 100 Artlyst Top 10
1) Ittai Gradel Antiquities dealer who alerted management at the British Museum to suspicious activities in February 2021. With no response from the Directors, he went public with his discovery. All Directors have now resigned. It was later found that 2000 objects from the collection had been stolen or damaged, and much of it sold on eBay. A senior curator has denied theft in the ongoing investigation.
2) Sir John Akomfrah RA The artist and filmmaker will represent Great Britain at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Sir John Akomfrah was Knighted in last year’s New Year’s Honours List.
3) Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greek Prime Minister, drew a parallel between the British Museum’s retention of the sculptures, commonly called the Elgin Marbles (AKA The Parthenon Sculptures) and a hypothetical scenario of the Mona Lisa. He emphasised that the issue goes beyond ownership and is fundamentally about “reunification.” Despite acknowledging the slow progress in negotiations, Mitsotakis expressed patience and determination, stating that he is committed to persisting in discussions that have spanned centuries.
4) Eve Salomon, CBE, former chair of trustees of the Horniman Museum and Garden, “The evidence is very clear that these objects (AKA the Benin Bronzes) were acquired “through force, and external consultation supported our view that it is both moral and appropriate to return their ownership to Nigeria.” Now it is time for the British Museum, which owns the most extensive collection of Benin Bronzes, to follow suit.
5) El Anatsui, a Ghana-born sculptor, created the Hyundai Commission at Tate Modern in 2023, filling the Turbine Hall with a monumental sculptural installation made from thousands of metal bottle tops and fragments.
6) Marina Abramović Her retrospective exhibition at the Royal Academy was full of surprises, proving she also has a sense of humour. It was the first solo female retrospective at the Royal Academy of Arts.
7) Dr Nicholas Cullinan is the Director of the newly renovated National Portrait Gallery. The gallery reopened in June 2023 after the biggest redevelopment project that the building has seen since 1896. The refurbishment programme has seen a comprehensive redisplay of the Collection in beautifully refurbished galleries, including more than 50 new acquisitions and the restoration of the Grade I listed building.
8) Nan Goldin – American photographer who highlighted the OxyContin epidemic and isolated the Sackler family’s role as the manufacturers of this lethal drug that has killed over 600,000 Americans. The NPG, The National Gallery, V&A, Tate exited like lemmings fleeing a sinking ship. The Met dropped the Sackler name from its building, as did the Louvre, and numerous other global institutions followed the lead. The documentary film about her activism was shortlisted for an Oscar. (Watch Video Above)
9) Karin Hindsbo, Former Director of The National Museum, Oslo, is now the new Director of Tate Modern.
10) Sir Isaac Julien CBE RA – British Filmmaker and installation artist – His retrospective at Tate Britain in 2023 was a sensation.
Alt Power 100 Artlyst In Alphabetical Order
1. Marina Abramović, The first female artist to have a solo retrospective at the Royal Academy of Arts. The Serbian-born performance artist filled the space beautifully, inspiring a whole new generation of younger artists.
2. Larry Achiampong Drawing on his Ghanaian roots, solo and collaborative projects employ imagery, aural and visual archives, live performance and sound to explore ideas surrounding class, cross-cultural and post-digital identity.
3. Sir John Akomfrah RA The artist and filmmaker will represent Great Britain at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Sir John Akomfrah was Knighted In last year’s New Year’s Honours List.
4. Michael Armitage – Artist, became a Royal Academician in 2022. The Kenyan artist was asked to design a new reverse (tails) design for the one-pound coin to mark the 40th anniversary of the modern £1 coin in 2023. The design will celebrate the people of Britain and our diverse culture.
5. El Anatsui, a Ghanaian-born sculptor, created the Hyundai Commission at Tate Modern in 2023, filling the Turbine Hall with a monumental sculptural installation made from thousands of metal bottle tops and fragments.
6. Maria Balshaw – Director of Tate
7. Banksy – Is an elusive street artist. He had a busy 2023 with his exhibition in Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) attracting record visitors.
8. Mark Bradford is a contemporary artist best known for his large-scale abstract paintings created out of paper. Characterised by its layered formal, material and conceptual complexity. He won the $500K Getty Prize, this year.
9. Erica Bolton/Jane Quinn are Bolton & Quinn Ltd, PR gurus.
10. Osei Bonsu – Curator of International Art, Tate Modern, responsible for organising exhibitions, developing the Museum’s collection and broadening the representation of African and African diaspora artists.
11. Bruce Boucher, the current head of the Sir John Soane’s Museum, retires at the end of 2023 after nearly eight years leading the organisation.
12. Sir Frank Bowling OBE RA (b 1934) – Guyana-born British Artist – knighted in 2020 at the age of 87 in a ceremony at Windsor Castle.
13. AA Bronson is an artist, healer, curator, and founder member of the collective General Idea who had a retrospective at the Gropius Bau in Berlin in 2023.
14. Matthew Burrows MBE is the artist/founder of the Artists Support Pledge hashtag during the pandemic that helped thousands of artists during the pandemic. It continues today, supporting artists from around the world.
15. Guy Casely-Hayford OBE is a British curator, cultural historian, broadcaster, and lecturer with Ghanaian roots and is the Director of V&A East.
16. Sheryll Catto was appointed Artistic Director and CEO of ActionSpace in 2023, having been co-director since 2008. ActionSpace is a charity that advocates for diversity within the contemporary visual arts sector, supporting neurodivergent artists in developing their artistic practice.
17. Lee Cavaliere has been appointed the new Artistic Director of VOLTA art fairs, effective July 2023.
18. Aaron Cezar is the founding Director of the Delfina Foundation, an independent, non-profit foundation dedicated to facilitating artistic exchange and developing creative practice through residencies, partnerships, and public programming.
19. David Chipperfield, a British architect, won the 2023 Pritzker Architecture Prize. He is best known as a civic architect, urban planner, and activist.
20. Martin Clark is the Director of the Camden Arts Centre. 2023 exhibitions included Martin Wong and Mohammed Sami.
21. Dr Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the newly renovated National Portrait Gallery. The gallery reopened in June 2023 after the biggest redevelopment project that the building has seen since 1896. The refurbishment programme has seen a comprehensive redisplay of the Collection in beautifully refurbished galleries, including more than 50 new acquisitions and the restoration of the Grade I listed building.
22. Jessie Darling Turner Prize Winner 2023. The artist was recognised for his outstanding solo showcases, “No Medals, No Ribbons” at Modern Art Oxford and “Enclosures” at Camden Art Centre, emerging as a formidable artist whose portfolio spans sculptures and installations.
23. Edmund de Waal CBE is an artist, master potter, and author of the best-selling ‘Hare With The Amber Eyes’. In 2024, he will chair the Booker Prize.
24. Olafur Eliasson is a Danish-Icelandic artist known for sculptures and large-scale installations. Recipient of the 2023 Premium Imperiale Awards.
25. Tracey Emin CBE RA – created the new doors at NPG
26. Ekow Eshun is a journalist, broadcaster, curator and Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group Chair. His forthcoming exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery in London, ‘The Time Is Always Now’, is a major study of the Black figure – and its representation in contemporary art.
27. Alex Farquharson – Director Tate Britain. As Director, Tate Britain he is Chair of the Turner Prize.
28. Hedwig Fijen is the director of Manifesta, European Nomadic Biennial. In 2024, the 15th edition of Manifesta, will be staged in Barcelona and its larger metropolitan region.
29. Gabriele Finaldi is the Director of the National Gallery, London. In 2023 the National Gallery exhibitions included Frans Hals, Paula Rego and After Impressionism: Inventing Modernism .
30. Ryan Gander OBE RA: Artist had successful shows at Lisson Gallery and instigated a treasure hunt for the Manchester International Festival.
31. Gilbert & George launched a private London Art Centre and Archive. Underpinned by the artists’ ethos’ Art for All’, The Gilbert & George Centre launched as a permanent H.Q. for Gilbert & George’s artistic legacy.
32. Liz Gilmore – Director Hastings Contemporary – exhibitions in 2023 included Soutine Kossoff and Hurvin Anderson.
33. RoseLee Goldberg is the founding Director and chief curator of Performa. It is a free event entirely outdoors in New York.
34. Nan Goldin – American photographer who highlighted the OxyContin epidemic and isolated the Sackler family’s role as the manufacturers. The Met dropped the Sackler name from its building, as did the Louvre and numerous other global institutions following the lead. The documentary film about her activism was shortlisted for an Oscar.
35. Will Gompertz – current Artistic Director of Barbican will take up new post as director of the Sir John Soane’s Museum in the New Year.
36. Ittai Gradel Antiquities dealer who alerted management at the British Museum to stolen objects from the museum’s collection back in February 2021.
37. Mark Hallett, the incoming Director of The Courtauld, vows to vigorously champion the significance of art history. In his dual role, he confronts the formidable tasks of securing funding for the institute’s renovation and fostering greater diversity within the student community at the forefront of the U.K.’s premier art institution.
38. Jane Hamlyn is chair of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Director of The Frith Street Gallery.
39. Margaret Harrison Artist, Included in ‘Women in Revolt!’ Hidden Narratives Of Feminist Art At Tate Britain is an exhibition of works by feminist artist Margaret Harrison and a recent exhibition at Cross Lane Projects, Kendal.
40. Margot Heller OBE, Director of South London Gallery, was responsible for embedding the gallery in its local community while establishing its international reputation.
41. Nathaniel Hepburn is the Director of Sussex Modern and Charleston Farmhouse.
42. Joe Hill – Director of Towner Gallery, Eastbourne – which hosted the 2023 Turner Prize Exhibition.
43. Karin Hindsbo, Director of The National Museum, Oslo, has been appointed the new Director of Tate Modern.
44. Paul Hobson is the Director of Modern Art Oxford.
45. Tristram Hunt has been the Director of V&A since 2017.
46. Arthur Jafa, an American video is planning to unveil a permanent piece at the private Glenstone Museum in the Washington, DC suburb of Potomac, Maryland.
47. Waldemar Januszczak is an English art critic, television documentary producer, and presenter.
48. Shanay Jhaveri joined the Barbican as Head of Visual Arts at the end of 2022, having been Associate Curator of International Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from 2016 to 2022.
49. Sir Isaac Julien CBE RA – British Filmmaker and installation artist – had a retrospective at Tate Brtiain in 2023.
50. Idris Khan / Annie Morris – artists for shows at Newlands House Gallery and Pitzhanger Gallery and Museum
51. Barbara Kruger – Artist – American conceptual artist and collagist associated with the Pictures Generation. The Serpentine Galleries is staging a solo ehxibition in 2024.
52. Alex Leith, Chair of the Critics’ Circle and Editor of Rosa Magazine
53. Clare Lilley – Director of YSP . 2023 exhibitions included Roger Hiorns and Lindsey Mendick
54. Professor Christoph Lindner new Royal College Of Art President and Vice-Chancellor
55. Sarah Lucas British YBA artist, currently has an exhibition at Tate Britain
56. Seema Manchanda is the Director of The Showroom and chair of the Black Training and Enterprise Group (BTEG), a national race equality charity.
57. Teresa Margolles, Mexican conceptual artist, photographer, videographer, and performance artist. In 2024 her Fourth Plinth Commission 850 Improntas (850 Imprint) will feature ‘Life masks’ of the faces of 850 trans people put together in the form of a tzompantli — a skull rack from Mesoamerican civilisations.
58. Tim Marlow critic, broadcaster, and Director of The Design Museum.
59. Kerry James Marshall, an American artist and professor known for his paintings of Black figures. He recently donated a portrait to the University of Cambridge.
60. Sarah McCrory – Director of Goldsmith’s CCA Gallery, set up to enhance Goldsmiths’ reputation for excellence and innovation in the arts.
61. Sir Steve McQueen OBE – Turner Prize winning artist, Oscar-winning film and TV director- In 2023 he released Occupied City.” a four-hour documentary on past and present Amsterdam.
62. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greek Prime Minister, embroiled in a row about the return of the Parthenon Sculptures, removed by Lord Elgin and currently housed in the British Museum.
63. Sarah Munro MBE is the Director of the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art.
64. Andrew Nairne OBE, Director of Kettle’s Yard.
65. Chris Ofili – Artist – creator of ‘Requiem’, a fresco at Tate Britain in memory of the Grenfell tragedy.
66. James Payne – Creator of ‘Great Art Explained’, a video series that demystifies seminal artworks.
67. Adriano Pedrosa – Artistic Director Venice Biennale 2024.
69. Michael Petry is a multimedia artist, writer, and curator—Director of MOCA London and co-founder of the Museum of Installation.
70. Viktor Pinchuk – Last Summer, The Victor Pinchuk Foundation opened the Russian War Crimes Exhibition in Berlin in partnership with the Pinchuk Art Centre.
71. Victoria Pomery OBE is the CEO of The Box, Plymouth.
72. Suhanya Raffel & Doryun Chong Curator – Director and chief curator of Hong Kong’s M+ museum
73. Dr Rathna Ramanathan. Head of Central Saint Martins and Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of the Arts.
74. Bridget Riley CH CBE is an English Op Art painter who turned 93 this year. Riley unveiled a painted ceiling at the British School of Rome (BSR). Riley has also created many murals and wall paintings, but this is her first ceiling work.
75. Ralph Rugoff, Director of Hayward Gallery
76. Eve Salomon CBE, former chair of trustees of the Horniman Museum and Garden, current chair of Bath Preservation Trust
77. Rebecca Salter PRA – Artist President of the Royal Academy of Arts.
78. Rebecca Scott and Mark Woods are an artist power couple and founders of Cross Lane Projects in Kendal Cumbria.
79. Sir Nicholas Serota – Chair of Arts Council England.
80. Yinka Shonibare CBE RA – British-Nigerian Artist. Unveiled a new sculpture in Leeds Hibiscus Rising honouring David Oluwale, who drowned after being chased by police.
81. Kumari Singh Burman MBE is a British artist celebrated for her radical feminist practice, which examines representation, gender, and cultural identity. In 2023, she was part of the jury for the John Moores Painting Prize
82. Bob & Roberta Smith (Patrick Brill) OBE RA is a British contemporary artist, writer, author, musician, art education advocate, and keynote speaker. In 2023, his vibrant flag artworks, entitled ‘A Puzzle 4U,’ were displayed around Mayfair.
83. Donald Smith – Director of Exhibitions, Chelsea Space.
84. Stephen Snoddy is a British Artist and Director of The New Art Gallery Walsall.
85. Barak adé Soleil / Chinasa Vivian Ezugha – Co-Directors LADA (Live Art Development Agency) supporting contemporary culture’s most radical and inventive artists, practices, and ideas.
86. Anthony Spira is the Director of M.K. Gallery
87. Gilane Tawadros – Director Whitechapel Art Gallery.
88. Wolfgang Tillmans is a German fine art photographer. In 2000, he became the first photographer to be awarded the Turner Prize.
89. Russell Tovey / Robert Diament – Talk Art podcast by actor and gallerist.
90. Dr Nicola Triscott is the CEO of FACT, Liverpool, the U.K.’s leading organisation for supporting and exhibiting art, film, and new media.
91. Turner Prize Nominees: Ghislaine Leung, Jesse Darling, Barbara Walker, and Rory Pilgrim
92. Nicola Vassell is a phenomenally articulate N.Y. gallerist.
93. Barbara Walker RA – artist appointed RA in 2023 and nominated for the Turner Prize
94. Clarrie Wallis is the Director of Turner Contemporary.
95. Simon Wallis is the Director of Hepworth Wakefield.
96. Wim Wenders – Artist, filmmaker – His film Anselm follows the artist Anselm Kiefer at work.
97. Dominique White is the winner of the 9th Max Mara Art Prize for Women.
98. Zoé Whitley is the Director of Chisenhale Gallery.
99. Lynette Yiadom-Boakye is a British/Ghanaian painter and writer whose solo show at Tate Britain had a post-COVID relaunch.
100. Mariam Zulfiqar – Director of Artangel.