Jamillah James (born 1980) is an American curator. She is the Manilow Senior Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
James grew up in New Jersey.[1] Her mother was a musician.[2] James's early interest in music and film provided one way into the world of visual art.[3] James attended Columbia College Chicago, where she was in the first class to study art history.[4] She graduated in 2005.[1][5] While in Chicago for college, James founded a DIY, live/work experimental music venue called Pink Section and later lived at the exhibition space Archer Ballroom, where she organized live music performances.[6]
Before moving to Los Angeles, James was an independent curator and held curatorial fellowships at the Studio Museum in Harlem (2012-2014) and the Queens Museum (2010).[2][7]
James was Assistant Curator at the Hammer Museum.[1] At the Hammer Museum she organized shows by Alex Da Corte, Simone Leigh,[8] and Charles Gaines.[9] She also curated Njideka Akunyili Crosby's first solo museum exhibition,[10] and would later present Crosby at Art + Practice, a space founded by artist Mark Bradford.[3][11]
In 2016 James was named curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.[7][9] Upon her arrival she noted her plans to present a mixture of Los Angeles artists and international artists,[9] and later described her goal of harnessing creative energy as a path to address a "turbulent political climate".[12] In 2018 she spoke with The Los Angeles Times about "de-centering" whiteness in the art world.[13] While in Los Angeles James curated exhibitions with artists Sarah Cain,[14] Harold Mendez, Nayland Blake,[15] B. Wurtz, and Nina Chanel Abney.[7] James' 2019 exhibit for Blake was described as a "thrilling iteration of the artist's thoughts...".[15]
In 2018 James and Margot Norton were announced as curators of the New Museum's 2021 Triennial.[16][17]
In 2021 James was named Manilow Senior Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and began her role in early 2022.[17][4][18]
In 2019, James served on the jury that chose Kandis Williams for the Hammer Museum’s $100,000 Mohn Award.[19]
In 2018, James received a fellowship from the VIA Art Foundation.[6] In 2021, James was awarded the Ellsworth Kelly Award from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.;[17] the Noah Davis Prize from the Underground Museum; and a curatorial fellowship from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.[6][20]