In 2018, Odundo became chancellor of the University for the Creative Arts

Photo: Gardiner Museum Toronto, Canada

Changing Faces

Watts Gallery appoints first president

Arts Professional
1 min read

The Watts Gallery Trust has appointed the ceramic artist Dame MAGDALENE ODUNDO as its first president.

The trust has awarded the title to Odundo in recognition of her service as a trustee since 2019.  The artist has been the subject of major solo exhibitions at venues including Norfolk’s Houghton Hall (2024) and the Gardiner Museum in Toronto (2023-2024).

Her work is featured in the collections of many museums, including the British Museum, the V&A and the National Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

Odundo trained as a graphic artist in Kenya before moving to the UK to continue her studies at institutions, including the Royal College of Art.

In 2018, she became chancellor of the University for the Creative Arts and was made a Dame in 2020.