Reyahn King is a British curator and

museum director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

. She is the chief executive officer of

York Museums Trust York Museums Trust (YMT) is the charity responsible for operating some key museums and galleries in York, England. The trust was founded in 2002 to run York's museums on behalf of the City of York Council. It has seen an increase in annual foo ...

Early life and education

King grew up in Surrey. From the age of 11, when her family went to

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

, she divided her time between there and boarding school in the UK. She studied for an undergraduate degree in modern history at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and, briefly worked at the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

in London, before attending

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

to study for a master's degree.

Career

King worked as curator of prints and drawings at

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local ...

before moving to the

Herbert Art Gallery and Museum Herbert Art Gallery & Museum (also known as the Herbert) is a museum, art gallery, records archive, learning centre, media studio and creative arts facility on Jordan Well, Coventry, England. Overview The museum is named after Sir Alfred Herb ...

in Coventry. She returned to Birmingham Museums as a manager before, in 2007, joining

National Museums Liverpool National Museums Liverpool, formerly National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, comprises several museums and art galleries in and around Liverpool, England. All the museums and galleries in the group have free admission. The museum is a non ...

as director of art galleries. From 2012 to 2015 King worked for the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

as the head of the West Midlands region. She chaired the Jury for the

John Moores Painting Prize The John Moores Painting Prize is a biennial award to the best contemporary painting, submission is open to the public. The prize is named for Sir John Moores, noted philanthropist, who established the award in 1957. The winning work and short-li ...

in 2008 and 2010, and was a judge for

Liverpool Art Prize The Liverpool Art Prize is contemporary art competition open to professional artists based in the Liverpool City Region area of the United Kingdom. Background The inaugural competition took place in 2008. The competition was inspired by the Turner ...

in 2008. King was appointed as chief executive of York Museums Trust in November 2015. She was only the second CEO of the Trust, following

Janet Barnes Janet Barnes, is a British curator and former museum director. She was the chief executive officer of York Museums Trust from its founding in 2002 to 2015. Career Barnes was the Honorary Curator of the Turner Museum of Glass at the University o ...

who had held the role from its inception in 2002. As chief executive of York Museums Trust in 2017, King led the bid to secure £4.9 million funding of

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

. The Trust will also receive £1.35 million over four years to continue as a Museum Development Sector Support Organisation, which offers expertise and advice to other museums in the region. She was photographed in 2016 by Rankin along with the team from

York Art Gallery York Art Gallery is a public art gallery in York, England, with a collection of paintings from 14th-century to contemporary, prints, watercolours, drawings, and ceramics. It closed for major redevelopment in 2013, reopening in summer of 2015. T ...

as part of the gallery's shortlisting for the

Art Fund Art Fund (formerly the National Art Collections Fund) is an independent membership-based British charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for many gifts and bequests, as ...

Museum of the Year. In February 2022 it was announced that King would stand down as Chief Executive of the Trust in summer 2022 to take up the post of Director of Heritage Properties for

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organ ...

. King is a member of the National Museums Director's Council; in April 2021 she was elected to its executive committee. She is also a member of the British Art Network Steering Group.

Publications

*King, R. 1997. ''Ignatius Sancho: The Man and His Times''. London: National Portrait Gallery *King, R. 2004. "Shemza, Anwar Jalal (1928–1985), artist ", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' *King, R. (ed) 2010. ''Aubrey Williams''. Liverpool: October Gallery/National Museums Liverpool

References

External links

Sara Wajid and Reyahn King talk on "Access, diversity, representation in the heritage sector"
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Reyahn Living people British curators People from Surrey York Museums Trust people Year of birth missing (living people)