Hello and welcome. I’m Huma Kabakci (b.1990, London), a British-Turkish independent curator, writer, custodian of a family collection, and former founding director of Open Space Contemporary, based in London.
After studying Advertising and Marketing at London College of Communication, I completed my MA and MPhil in Curating Contemporary Art at the Royal College of Art.
Over the past decade, I have worked across commercial galleries, biennials, museums and auction houses in the UK, Turkey and internationally. From 2014 to 2022, I was founding director of Open Space Contemporary, where I led an annual programme and built partnerships with Frieze Art Fair, CURA ART and Refettorio Felix. Since then I’ve worked independently with galleries, institutions and artists on projects at the intersection of art, anthropology, food and lived experience. Recent work includes Hold Me Now (Ione & Mann, 2024), Becoming Through Pain (Somers Gallery, 2026), and Ecstasy and the Aftermath, opening at the Sainsbury Centre in November 2026.
My curatorial practice is grounded in collaboration. I bring together artists, chefs, scientists, anthropologists and writers around shared ideas and questions. Freudian Bites, a monthly supper club I’ve hosted in my living room for over a year, is one example: each evening pairs a guest artist with a collaborating chef and invites collectors, gallerists and institutions to explore themes like memory, identity and desire around the table.
My key areas of interest and expertise include diaspora, gender and identity politics, social impact, food as a medium, and hospitality.
I am currently completing a second MA in Anthropology of Food at SOAS, where my thesis, “Conviviality of Turkish Coffee: Gendered Spaces and Fortune-Telling,” looks at the ritual and gender politics of the practice. I also guest lecture at Sotheby’s Institute on collection management and the global art market.
Alongside my curatorial work, I write The Curious Curator on Substack, exploring food and art, contribute to STIR magazine, and support institutions including Gasworks and Nottingham Contemporary. I also co-authored a cookbook, Tender Touches, with artist Inés Neto dos Santos.
