V&A East leader at Future Cities Forum

Gus Casely-Hayford, OBE, the Director of V&A East will lead discussions at Future Cities Forum's January 2021 event debating the future role of museums in the regeneration of cities post Covid-19.

Renowned museum director, historian, writer and broadcaster, Gus has moved from his director role at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art in Washington DC, to lead the creative strategy and programming across V&A East's two new public venues - a five storey museum on Stratford Waterfront and a dynamic collections and research centre at Here East - both now under construction in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Both sites will open in 2023 as part of East Bank, a new powerhouse of culture, education, innovation and growth.

Gus leads the V&A East curatorial and project teams, working with Chief Curator Catherine Ince and V&A East Project Director Claire McKeown. His appointment back in Spring 2020, marked a significant milestone in the V&A's expansion beyond South Kensington, with plans for a major transformation of the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green will underway, and the opening of new galleries in Dundee and Shenzhen.

He is a Fellow of the Cultural Institute at King's College London, Honorary Fellow of SOAS, and a Clore Fellow. He has also sat on the broads of many arts institutions, including the National Trust, the Caine Prize for African Writing and London's National Portrait Gallery.

Gus has advised organisations from Tate to the Royal Shakespeare Company and consulted on numerous exhibitions and creative projects and has presenter credits on BBC, Sky Arts and Channel Four.