Melanie Pocock Appointed Curator at Ikon

Beginning in January 2020, Melanie Pocock will take up the position of curator at Ikon, a 55-year-old nonprofit art center located in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Previously Pocock had worked as assistant curator at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) Singapore, at Lasalle College of the Arts, since 2014. 

During her time at ICA Singapore, Pocock organized more than 60 exhibitions for local and international artists, as well as curating a trilogy of group exhibitions exploring “paradoxical aesthetics” that comprised: “Dissolving Margins” (2018–19), “Native Revisions” (2017), and “Countershadows (tactics in evasion)” (2014). A contributor to international publications including ArtAsiaPacific, Pocock edited the first monograph about Malaysian conceptual artist Shooshie Sulaiman, which was published by Kerber Verlag in 2014. 

Pocock said about her appointment at Ikon: “I’ve long been inspired by the internationalism of Ikon’s programme and the depth of its work with local communities. For decades, Ikon’s artist-centric approach, from career-changing solo exhibitions to pioneering off-site projects, have set its programme apart.” She previously held curatorial positions in the UK at Modern Art Oxford and in mainland China at the gallery Art Scene China.

An education-centered art space, Ikon Gallery was founded in 1964 by a group of artists in Birmingham, and is primarily funded by Arts Council England and Birmingham City Council. Jonathan Watkins, director of Ikon, welcomed Pocock, saying: “She brings a wealth of experience that fits well with our programme overall, complementing and refreshing our engagement with the international art world.”