TOPIC: "To Bear Witness"

In this talk Natasha Becker reflects on growing up in a racist and exclusionary culture in South Africa and living, and working in the wake of racism in the United States. Trained as a historian specializing in black history and culture, and drawing on ten years of curatorial practice, she highlights important experiences, motivations, and exhibition projects anchored in supporting black voices and connecting people, stories, and public issues.  

Born and raised in South Africa, Natasha Becker is the inaugural curator of African art at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, joining the Museums in December 2020. Working in both South Africa and the United States, over the past decade, she has focused on presenting the work of artists from Africa and African diaspora, organizing numerous exhibitions and international initiatives. She worked at the Clark Institute for several years as the Assistant Director for Mellon Initiatives and, more recently, as co-curator of the inaugural exhibitions at the new Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice Art Gallery. She has also served as a curatorial adviser at the Face Foundation, curator in residence at Faction Art Projects in Harlem, and senior curator at the Goodman Gallery in South Africa. Prior to joining the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Natasha was one of the cofounders of Assembly Room, a curatorial platform for the advancement of female-identifying artists and curators in New York. She holds a master’s in African history from the University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa, and studied art history at Binghamton University, New York.