Shanay Jhaveri, Head of Visual Arts at London’s Barbican Centre, has been named the winner of the Award for Arts at the Eastern Eye Arts, Culture and Theatre Awards (ACTAs) 2025. Jhaveri is being recognised for his pioneering curatorial work and transformative influence on contemporary visual art. Notably, he has championed site-specific public art through landmark projects such as Cloud Songs on the Horizon by Ranjani Shettar and Purple Hibiscus by Ibrahim Mahama at the Barbican, alongside his recent acclaimed exhibition The Imaginary Institution of India: Art 1975–1998.
Jhaveri’s international career spans some of the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions. Prior to joining the Barbican, he served as Associate Curator of International Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from 2016 to 2022. During his tenure, he played a key role in expanding the museum’s global art narrative—curating celebrated exhibitions including Phenomenal Nature: Mrinalini Mukherjee (2019), Alex Da Corte’s Met Roof Commission As Long as the Sun Lasts (2021), and Carol Bove’s façade installation The Séances Aren’t Helping (2021). His curatorial approach reflects a deep commitment to artists from South Asia and the Global South, bringing their stories to major international platforms.
An accomplished writer and thinker, Jhaveri has contributed essays to leading art journals and authored books such as America: Films from Elsewhere (2019) and Night Fever (2024). His work bridges art history, cinema, and postcolonial theory, reflecting his broader mission to challenge and enrich institutional perspectives on non-Western art histories.
With his current leadership at the Barbican, Jhaveri is setting a new benchmark for public engagement with contemporary art. The ACTAs 2025 Award for Arts is a testament to his visionary outlook and enduring impact on the global visual arts landscape.
