Inside American curator Thelma Golden's world

Emerald Pictures director Rodney Passé's latest short, Inner Worlds: Thelma Golden.

For several decades, American curator Thelma Golden has redefined what a museum can be. As director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem, she has expanded the possibilities for artists of African descent, reshaping how Black culture is represented in contemporary art. 

In this episode of Inner Worlds, Golden invites Art Basel to the Museum’s newly reopened, purpose-built home – reflecting on a space that fulfills the ambition imagined by its founders in 1968.

On making the film, Passé says: “I wanted to approach this film like a jazz session grounded in a non-linear exploration of time and place, and punctuated by fragments of archival material. The story of the Studio Museum in Harlem’s historic reopening is captured rhythmically and spiritually, honouring both the building’s architectural design and the community at the core of its existence. Thelma and Darnell's conversation delves into the vision for this new space, connecting it back to the mission imagined by the Museum’s founders while emphasising the people and milestones that have set the stage for this new chapter.”