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Collector Emma Menell Is Rethinking How African Artists Are Supported Abroad

She describes Tyburn Foundation's mission as creating space for artists to experiment and even fail, conditions she says commercial and institutional models rarely allow.

In 2015, South African collector Emma Menell founded Tyburn Gallery in London to provide a platform for artists from Africa and its diaspora to show their work. When the gallery closed just four years later, it had built a reputation as a nurturing space for young artists, some of whom have since attained global acclaim, including Kudzanai-Violet Hwami and Moffat Takadiwa (a 2026 Toyota Tsusho CFAO African Art Award winner).

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Some six years later, Menell founded the nonprofit Tyburn Foundation with a similar mission but greater zeal. “I wanted to continue working closely with emerging and mid-career artists from Africa in a less commercial context that prioritized slow, sustainable growth through curatorial engagements, residencies and meaningful patronage,” she told Observer. “The Foundation emerged from a desire to create a structure that supports artists’ practices over time free from the pressures of the market, with space for deeper reflection, experimentation and exchange. The present challenges facing galleries have further strengthened my commitment to the Tyburn model.”

Tyburn Foundation, which is headquartered in Umbria, Italy, builds on the legacy of the gallery with an artist-focused program of fellowships, residencies and exhibitions. Its priority is the long-term support of artists making work in a community-driven environment through collaboration, research, exchange and experimentation across Europe and Africa. Its........

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