The Wick Culture - Devyani Saltzman. Photography by Ejatu Shaw The Wick Culture - Devyani Saltzman. Photography by Ejatu Shaw
Monday Muse

Interview:  Barbican Director for Arts and Participation, Devyani Saltzman

Interview
Devyani Saltzman
Photography
Ejatu Shaw
22 September 2025
Interview
Devyani Saltzman
Photography
Ejatu Shaw
22 September 2025
Canadian writer, curator, public thinker, and cultural leader Devyani Saltzman has more than fifteen years of experience working with major cultural institutions, including some of North America’s leading art museums, the Art Gallery of Ontario and Banff among them. Saltzman joined the Barbican as Director for Arts and Participation in July 2024. Her work has continued to emphasise the ever-evolving relationship between art and social change, making her the perfect person to lead the Barbican into its next chapter, as a locally-rooted but globally-influential cultural institution. Saltzman spoke to The Wick about surprises during her first year at the Barbican, forthcoming book, EXITING, examining institution’s ongoing diversity issues, and what she changes she hopes to see in institutions in the near future.

THE WICK:   Talk us through a typical Monday.

Devyani Saltzman:   Start with a quiet meditative moment and then black coffee. Afterwards, I like to walk in, continue to clear my mind and think about the day ahead. The key is keeping the long view on strategy and the overall programme as opposed to getting initially lost in noise and Outlook.

TW:   You were appointed as the Director for Arts at the Barbican over a year ago. What has surprised you the most now that you’re inside the institution and what are you most excited about?

DS:   I think what surprised me most was that across arts and participation programming there hadn’t been regular cross-team meetings to think as an overall team. I’m most excited about coming together to create cohesive programmatic dialogue and ideas-led seasons.

TW:   Your role oversees the breadth of arts from visual arts to theatre, dance, and cinema. Which piece of programming has been most innovative in your view?

DS:   That’s definitely like choosing your favourite family member. I honestly think each is incredibly innovative in its own way. In terms of development, especially in technology, our Immersive department is the one I’m loving seeing expand and learn about.

TW:   In a time when cultural institutions are being asked to rethink their roles, what do you foresee for the institution of the future?

DS:   In the next 5 to 10 years, I think they have to be less about events, more nimble, and more about the role they play as a platform in amplifying what artists and audiences are concerned by and care about and wish to experience to feel joy. They need to be spaces of gathering and civic purpose, and not afraid to be political and present ideas and tough questions that we all need clarity on in a world in chaos.

“They need to be spaces of gathering and civic purpose, and not afraid to be political and present ideas and tough questions that we all need clarity on in a world in chaos.”

TW:   In your upcoming book EXITING, you explore why diverse leaders are leaving institutions. How have your own background and experiences informed your creative and curatorial practice?

DS:   I think not feeling a sense of belonging as a young brown woman growing up going to major institutions, I knew we needed not only to be supporting more diverse artists, but serious structural change on the inside of institutions. But now, I feel it’s really even beyond hiring for diversity. I’m asking myself how we can shift the ethos of these spaces away from an addiction to productivity and bureaucracy to a more human-centred ethos. We’ve buried the work (artistic expression, creativity) with the ‘work’.

TW:   You’re playing a key role in delivering Destination City, which reimagines the Square Mile as a vibrant, world-leading cultural and leisure destination. What excites you most about the Barbican shaping this vision and how do you see the arts transforming the way people experience the City of London?

DS:   It’s an exciting mandate to be a part of and at this moment I’m most excited by the launch of our Public Realm commissions under the leadership of Head of Visual Arts, Shanay Jhaveri. Last August the building was wrapped by Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama. Over 200,000 people enjoyed it as a freelancer public experience. I love that we are growing that programme, and our participatory programmes which cater to intergenerational audiences from Tai Chi on lakeside to experiences encouraging gathering, including our Outdoor Cinema programme.

TW:   The Barbican is iconic in design. If you could live in any Culturally Curious building in the world, which would it be and why?

DS:   That’s a fantastic question. I’ve always been curious about the Gehry Tower at Luma in Arles. Not quite a city experience but wild and gorgeous all the same. Or, one of the artist studios on Fogo Island.

TW:   What book are you passing on to a loved one?

DS:   The Myth of Normal, by Gabor Mate. I’m a nonfiction writer and heavily into books that unpack a core idea through personal as well as research-based narrative. Mate is such a great thinker on health and the social systems that shape us and our bodies and this is a favourite.

TW:   Who is your ultimate Monday Muse?

DS:   Currently Kiran Desai and the work of other incredible writers that feels spacious, insightful to the human experience and calming.


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