Misan Harriman to Leave Southbank Centre Chair Role After Current Term Ends
Photographer and activist Misan Harriman (b. 1977) said he will step down as chair of London’s Southbank Centre when his current term ends in the fall, closing a tenure that has drawn both institutional praise and public scrutiny. In a video posted to social media, Harriman said the decision had been made well before the recent backlash over his posts, and that he had intended to serve two terms from the outset.
“It’s semi-public knowledge that my term is coming to an end anyway, my actual term at Southbank, my second term,” Harriman said. “I had decided way before this madness that I was going to do two terms.” He added that the search for his successor would take time and that more details on the timeline would follow in the autumn.
Southbank confirmed to the Guardian on Wednesday that Harriman had decided to depart in January. The institution also said the process of identifying the next chair would begin later. In the same video, Harriman praised the organization’s staff and board, calling the venue “a sacred 11 acres” and saying he remained proud to lead it.
The announcement follows months of criticism over Harriman’s social media activity. In April, he came under fire for comments made after two Jewish men were attacked in London, when he argued that an attack on a Muslim victim by the same assailant had received less attention. Critics said the remarks minimized the antisemitic nature of the assault. In May, he drew further backlash after posting a video responding to the Reform Party’s election win in the UK, in which he referenced a conversation between Susan Sontag and Kurt Vonnegut about the Holocaust and cruelty. Harriman denied that he was comparing Reform to the Nazi party.
The controversy also prompted a wider response from the art world. Thousands of people wrote to British media watchdog Ipso about coverage of Harriman, and artists including Peter Doig and Tracey Emin signed a letter in his defense.
Harriman, who built a large following through photographs of Black Lives Matter protests, has framed the dispute as a question of speech and accountability. In May, he told the Guardian, “We have reached the point where truth itself is being crushed by the very institutions that are supposed to uphold it. I will never whisper about the oppressed. I stand with truth; I stand by my right to use my voice to help others.”
His departure will set in motion a leadership transition at one of London’s most visible cultural institutions, where the next chair will inherit both a prominent public platform and a fraught political climate.
