Bengi Ünsal Appointed as ICA Director, Second Woman in Institution's 75-Year History

Bengi Ünsal has been appointed as the new director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, marking her as the second woman to hold this position in the institution's seventy-five-year history. A Turkish-born curator, Ünsal has served as the head of contemporary music at the Southbank Centre since 2016, taking over from Stefan Kalmar, who stepped down in August after five years. She has curated the annual Meltdown festival, showcasing guest artists such as MIA in 2017 and Grace Jones in 2022. Additionally, she has managed contemporary classical and avant-garde music events at various locations. Prior to this, Ünsal was the founding artistic director of Salon IKSV and the managing director of Doublemoon Records from 2007 to 2009. The previous female director was Dorothy Morland, who led from 1951 to 1967 and promoted Pop art.