Gus Casely-Hayford

Augustus (Gus) Casely-Hayford is a British curator and cultural historian with Ghanaian roots. He is a King's College Institute Associate (at King's College London) and a Research Associate at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). In 2010, as part of the Wonderful Africa Season, he presented Lost Kingdoms of Africa, four 60-minute television programmes for BBC Two and BBC Four; in 2014, the series was broadcast by the French-speaking TV channel Histoire. He was commissioned to present a second series in February 2012. He wrote the book Lost Kingdoms of Africa in 2012, published by Bantam Press. He presented a study of William Hogarth and the 18th century for the television series The Genius of British Art, on Channel 4 in 2010 and hosted The Culture Show for BBC 2 in 2012. He is working towards a National Portrait Gallery exhibition on the Abolition of Slavery.

Career

Casely-Hayford is the former Executive Director of Arts Strategy for Arts Council England. He was previously Director of inIVA (Institute of International Visual Art), a London-based arts organisation with a particular emphasis on international practice, which collaborates with partner venues throughout the UK and worldwide. Prior to this he was the Director of Africa 05, the largest African arts season ever hosted in Britain, involving more than 150 cultural organisations, including the BBC. He also led the British Museum's diversity programme. He has advised the United Nations and the Canada Council, Council for Culture of the Dutch and Norwegian Arts Councils, and commissioned to develop the future audience vision for the Tate family of galleries. In 2012 he was a Jury member of the National Open Art Competition and the National Portrait Gallery BP Portrait Award. In 2013 he was the Chair of the Caine Prize judges.

He has formerly presented an award-winning South Bank show on African art, produced a documentary on Chris Ofili for Channel 4 and presented several series on African culture for BBC World Service. He has presented Brit Art: Where to Now? for BBC Four. He was a commissioner of arts for the Greater London Authority.

He lectures on world art at Sotheby's, Goldsmiths College and the University of Westminster, and is a consultant for organisations such as the United Nations, the Arts Council and the BBC. He is a Clore Fellow and sits on a variety of committees and boards, including the National Portrait Gallery Board of Trustees and the Africa Express music festival. He also sits on the Caine Prize Council and is a spokesperson for the National Archives' Explore Your Archive programme. Casely-Hayford is a supporter of Sense International.

Personal life

He is the brother of fashion designer Joe Casely-Hayford, O.B.E., and the grandson of J. E. Casely Hayford (1866–1930), the great Gold Coast thinker, writer and politician.

External links

• Biography and appointments
• Channel 4
• Soas
• Lost Kingdoms of Africa
• The Lost Kingdoms of Africa Facebook page
• Wonderful Africa Season

• "Ghana at Fifty: Leaders on the UK Arts scene – A selection of profiles of the UK’s leading figures in the arts, all Ghana-born or with Ghanaian roots", BBC Africa Beyond website.
• "50 Leading British Ghanaians"
• "ACE appoints Arts Strategy Director", Artists' Interaction & Representation, January 2007.
• Professor Stuart Hall, "Chairman's Statement", 2005 to 2006 Institute of International Visual Arts Annual Report.
• Margaret Busby, "Vision for change", New Statesman, 10 January 2005.
• "Arts Council England Makes Two Key leadership Appointments", Arts Council England, 5 December 2006.
• Nicola Lees, "Greenlit: Brit Art – Where to Now? BBC4", TV Mole, 17 September 2009.
• Council Members, Caine Prize website.
• "Dr Gus Casely-Hayford lends his support to Sense International", Sense International, 22 July 2013.