Jun

Casely-Hayford honored by the Queen

Augustus (Gus) Casely-Hayford, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art has been named an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honors List for his services to arts and culture. The list recognizes the achievements of extraordinary people across the United Kingdom and are the most high-profile awards made by the British monarch. The list is released twice a year—at New Year’s and for the Queen’s official birthday in June.

Hayford is the third family member to receive an honor from the Queen. His sister, Margaret Casely-Hayford, Chair of Shakespeare’s Globe and former Chair of Charity Action Aid UK, is to be awarded a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) on the same Honors list. Their brother, fashion designer Joe Casely-Hayford was appointed an OBE for services to the fashion industry, in the Queen’s Birthday Honors List in 2007.

Augustus (Gus) Casely-Hayward. (Photo by Franko Khoury, National Museum of African Art)

A writer, lecturer and broadcaster on African culture Gus Casely-Hayward is a research associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and a member of its Centre of African Studies Council. He also sits on the Board of the Caine Prize for African literature.

Born in London, Casely-Hayford was educated at SOAS, where he received his doctorate in African history and was later awarded an honorary fellowship. As director of Africa 05, he organized the largest African arts season in Britain with more than 150 venues hosting 1,000 events.

He has presented two series of “The Lost Kingdoms of Africa” for the BBC and wrote the companion book (Bantam Press, Random House, 2012). Last year, Casely-Hayford wrote and presented a six-part television series for Sky Arts called Tate Britain: Great British Walks, advised on a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet, delivered a SOAS centenary lecture in Ghana, worked on a British Library exhibition focused on African intellectual tradition and consulted on Tate Britain’s “Artist and Empire” exhibition. He also delivered a Ted Global Talk on pre-colonial Africa in the summer of 2017.

A former board member of London’s National Portrait Gallery, Casely-Hayford worked on an exhibition for the gallery that will tell the story of the abolition of slavery through 18th- and 19th-century portraits. He is also a Trustee of the National Trust (the U.K.’s largest heritage organization), a member of the Blue Plaque Group, a Clore Fellow, a fellow of the Cultural Institute at Kings College London and author of the recently released book on Timbuktu and the rise of the Mali Empire (Ladybird/Penguin, 2018).

Casely-Hayford succeeded Johnnetta Betsch Cole who served as director of the National Museum of African Art from 2009 through 2017.