Renée Melanie Mussai
Title
Honorary Doctor
Person Type
Honorary
London-based curator, writer and scholar Renée Melanie Mussai harnesses the transformative power of art for social advocacy and as a catalyst for transformation.
Working through a Black feminist lens, Renée initially pursued an interdisciplinary humanities degree at the University of Vienna before transferring to London College of Printing, now known as London College of Communication, where she studied photographic practice and theory.
Her approach to curation is rooted in artist-centred advocacy, immersive programming and embodied visual activism. During her 2-decade long tenure as Senior Curator and Head of Collection & Curatorial at arts charity Autograph, she organised many critically-acclaimed exhibitions worldwide – championing contemporary artists such as Zanele Muholi, Lola Flash, Lina Iris Viktor, Phoebe Boswell and Aida Silvestri through commissions, acquisitions and publications, while leading pioneering archive, research and educational initiatives. Her curated group and solo exhibitions range from the first-ever retrospective of veteran photographer James Barnor (2010) to Mickalene Thomas: All About Love (2024) and I See the Face of Things to Come (2023) for R/evolutions, 14th edition of PhotoIreland Festival.
Former Artistic Director/Chief Curator of The Walther Collection, and visiting guest curator / non-resident fellow at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, Renée currently acts as Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg’s Visual Identities in Art and Design Research Centre (VIAD), Chair of the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation’s advisory council, Trustee of the Centre for British Photography and Getty Images’ Black History and Culture Collection, alongside teaching.
An esteemed writer, editor and educator, Renée’s publications include the award-winning monographs Lina Iris Viktor: Dark Matter—Some Are Born to Endless Night (Autograph, 2021) and Zanele Muholi: Hail, the Dark Lioness (Aperture, 2018, 2024). Her edited book Black Chronicles—Photography, Race & Difference in Victorian Britain (Thames & Hudson/Autograph) was published in 2025 and the sole-authored Eyes that Commit—A Visual Gathering (Prestel) is forthcoming in 2026.
Renée Melanie Mussai - Instagram