Salma Tuqan is a contemporary art & design curator and cultural strategist. She graduated from Cambridge University with a BA, MA in History of Art, and has an MA in Arts Policy and Cultural Management from Birkbeck University.
She is currently the Deputy Director of Delfina Foundation (London), a non-profit cross disciplinary foundation dedicated to artistic exchange through global residencies, exhibitions and public programming.
She is currently the Deputy Director of Delfina Foundation (London), a non-profit cross disciplinary foundation dedicated to artistic exchange through global residencies, exhibitions and public programming.
Prior to Delfina Foundation, she was at the V&A for eight years as Curator of Contemporary Middle Eastern Art and Design where she was responsible for Middle Eastern programming at the museum, and laid the foundation for the its permanent Contemporary Arab art and design collection including new commissions by the region’s leading practitioners. Additionally, she co-curated the biennial international Jameel Prize exhibition and tour (2011-2018), and co-founded the Culture in Crisis stream.
From 2007 to 2011 she worked at Art Dubai as Head of Artists’ Projects, as well as Artistic Director of Contemparabia, a series of cultural itineraries for international museum groups across the Arab world.
From 2007 to 2011 she worked at Art Dubai as Head of Artists’ Projects, as well as Artistic Director of Contemparabia, a series of cultural itineraries for international museum groups across the Arab world.
She works closely with cultural institutions and galleries on strategy including; The Irthi Crafts Council (Sharjah), House of Today (Beirut), Achates (London), Nova Contemporary (Bangkok) and Proyectos Ultravioleta (Guatemala City).
She is advisory board member of The Palestinian Museum (Birzeit), The British Museum’s Santo Domingo Centre of Excellence for Latin American Research (London), Arab Image Foundation (Beirut), The Khatt Foundation (Amsterdam) and NuMu (Guatemala City), a former Trustee of the Crossway Foundation (London), and Jury Member for the Marrakech Biennial 5 (2013), Leading Cultural Destinations (2020), and the Rupert Museum’s Social Impact Award (2020).
She has contributed to projects as an independent curator and facilitator, including Until my veins collapse at Mac Lyon (2021), The Wind Tunnel Project in Farnborough (2014) and Palestine c/o Venice at the 53rd Venice Biennale (2009) and has lectured at institutions including the Met (New York), V&A (London) and The National Gallery (London).
She is advisory board member of The Palestinian Museum (Birzeit), The British Museum’s Santo Domingo Centre of Excellence for Latin American Research (London), Arab Image Foundation (Beirut), The Khatt Foundation (Amsterdam) and NuMu (Guatemala City), a former Trustee of the Crossway Foundation (London), and Jury Member for the Marrakech Biennial 5 (2013), Leading Cultural Destinations (2020), and the Rupert Museum’s Social Impact Award (2020).
She has contributed to projects as an independent curator and facilitator, including Until my veins collapse at Mac Lyon (2021), The Wind Tunnel Project in Farnborough (2014) and Palestine c/o Venice at the 53rd Venice Biennale (2009) and has lectured at institutions including the Met (New York), V&A (London) and The National Gallery (London).