Essence Harden Named Senior Curator at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
12May 2, 2026
Curator and writer Essence Harden has been appointed senior curator at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) in San Francisco. They will take up their new role on May 18. Harden, who is known for their deep interest in cutting-edge art and for bringing artists into the curatorial process, recently curated the 2026 edition of Expo Chicago, as well as the Focus section at this year’s Frieze LA; with Paulina Pobocha, they cocurated the 2025 iteration of the Hammer Museum’s Made in LA biennial. In their new job, they will be tasked working collaboratively to develop exhibitions that will variously complement and inspire the institution’s public programming and the performing arts events for which it is known. Harden earlier served as visual arts curator at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles. They have organized exhibitions at the Orange County Museum of Art, Art + Practice in Los Angeles, the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, and the Oakland Museum of California. Their appointment marks a return for the curator, who spent their youth in Oakland and San Francisco. “YBCA’s commitment to experimentation reflects a belief that the Bay Area is a vital force in contemporary artistic and cultural production,” said Harden in a statement. “Returning to the Bay Area through YBCA feels deeply meaningful. I’m excited to develop exhibitions with artists and colleagues that push aesthetic and conceptual boundaries while situating the region within the diasporic and global exchanges shaping contemporary art.” YBCA chief executive Mari Robles told Artnews that Harden “rose to the top,” citing their experience curating exhibitions at museums, biennials, and commercial fairs. “We’re looking to build out a bold, dynamic program, one that speaks both to the local, Bay Area community, as well as regionally and nationally,” said Robles. “They made it clear that they had kind of that connective tissue to do that work.” Related Marcello Dantas Named Curator of 2027–29 Vancouver Biennale Amanda Carneiro and Raphael Fonseca Appointed Curators of the 37th São Paulo Bienal