Ekow Eshun (born in London, England, 27 May 1968) is a British writer, journalist, broadcaster, and curator.
Eshun rose to prominence as a trailblazer in British culture. He was the first Black editor of a major magazine in the UK (Arena Magazine in 1997) and continued to break ground as the first Black director of a major arts organisation, the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.
Described as a "cultural polymath" by The Guardian, he has been at the heart of creative culture in Britain for several decades, authoring books, presenting TV and radio documentaries, curating exhibitions, and chairing high-profile lectures.
Eshun curated In the Black Fantastic at London's Hayward Gallery in July 2022, a landmark exhibition of visionary Black artists exploring myth, science fiction and Afrofuturism. The show was critically acclaimed, being called "Spectacular from first to last" by The Observer. The Evening Standard said: "There is "There is unlikely to be a better show this year."
As Chairman of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group in Trafalgar Square, Eshun leads one of the most important public arts programmes in the world.
