Katy Hessel rewrites art history—literally. The art historian, curator, and broadcaster is the force behind The Story of Art Without Men (2022), a bestselling and award-winning corrective to the canon, and @thegreatwomenartists, a pioneering platform amplifying women and gender-nonconforming artists since 2015. Her work spans podcasts (The Great Women Artists, Death of an Artist), BBC documentaries (Gentileschi, Monet), and exhibitions (Victoria Miro, Tate Modern takeovers)—all driven by one question: Who’s been left out? Whether interviewing Marina Abramović, lecturing at The Met, or launching Museums Without Men (2024), Hessel spotlights overlooked voices with the rigor of a scholar and the energy of a disruptor. A Visiting Fellow at Cambridge, Trustee at Charleston, and Forbes 30 Under 30 alum, she’s as comfortable dissecting Baroque painters on BBC Radio as she is curating residencies in an Italian palazzo.
