Thu 30 Apr 2026, 6.30 - 8pm
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 11am–6pm |
| Wednesday | 11am–6pm |
| Thursday | 11am–9pm |
| Friday | 11am–6pm |
| Saturday | 11am–6pm |
| Sunday | 11am–6pm |
Access requirements
The Whitechapel Gallery is committed to making all of our events as accessible as possible for every audience member. Please contact access@whitechapelgallery.org if you would like to discuss a particular request and we will gladly discuss with you the best way to accommodate it.
Information about access on site at the gallery is available here https://www.whitechapelgallery.org/visit/access/
This includes information about Lift access; Borrowing wheelchairs & seating; Assistance Animals; Parking; Toilets and baby care facilities; Blind & Partially Sighted Visitors; Subtitles and transcripts; British Sign Language (BSL) and hearing induction loops; Deaf Messaging Service (DMS).
About This Event
This event takes place in the Assembly Room at Whitechapel Gallery, located on the ground floor.
This event lasts approximately 1.5 hours. There are no rest breaks currently scheduled during this event.
You must purchase a ticket to attend the event. If you require a Personal Assistant to support your attendance, we can offer them a place free of charge, but it must be arranged in advance.
If the ticket price affects your attendance, please email tickets@whitechapelgallery.org to be added to the guest list (no questions asked, but dependent on availability).
This event is suitable for those over the age of 16
We are unable to provide British Sign Language interpretation for this event
We are unable to provide live closed captioning or CART for this event.
Transport
To the best of our knowledge, there are no planned disruptions to local transport on the date of the event.
Our nearest train station – Aldgate East Underground (1 min) is not wheelchair accessible. The closest wheelchair accessible stations are Whitechapel (15 min), Shoreditch High Street (15 min) or Liverpool Street (15 min).
Free parking for Blue Badge holders is available at the top of Osborn Street in the pay and display booths for an unlimited period. Spaces are available on a first come, first served basis.
Live Recording
Please note: this event will be recorded and filmed for the Whitechapel Gallery Archive and future online publication.
Join us for a public discussion on the economic dimensions of contemporary culture.
Arts institutions today face their most challenging financial context for a generation. In the context of severe pressures on public funding and philanthropic support, how we might consider the ‘value’ of arts and culture?
This special panel explores how alternative notions of value might reshape funding models, and speak to the broader and vital role of public arts institutions within a democracy.
Economist Mariana Mazzucato will offer an initial provocation before joining artist Alvaro Barrington and philanthropy strategist Darren Isom in conversation.
The discussion will be chaired by Gilane Tawadros, Director of Whitechapel Gallery.
There will also be an opportunity for audience questions and contributions.
Art Futures is a major new Whitechapel Gallery series which looks at the role of public art institutions at a time of multiple crises, bringing together audiences with artists, writers, academics and policy-makers to collectively imagine alternative visions.
Art Futures is supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
[Extracts from Alvaro Barrington’s artist biography]
My life is not memories rather their narratives ive told myself about myself
Figuring it out is hard and I’m sorry […]
Art is about learning how to be, Painting is about what’s in front of you, it’s about learning to see […]
Not really into small talk but always want a deep conversation
Biggest turn on real empathy not this pseudo cultural capitalist woke that people exercise now a days/ empathy that requires real listening and imagination around someone else’s lived experience. […]
I don’t believe in fundraisers i believe in systemic and cultural changes
You cant control what you feel about someone but you can control what you do with those feelings
The dollar you held in 1998 is worth 51 cents
Infinite growth cannot exist on a planet with limited resources
Darren Isom is a partner in the San Francisco office of The Bridgespan Group.
He advises mission-driven organizations and philanthropic foundations in support of equity and justice. He leads the firm’s work with arts-, culture-, and narrative-focused organizations and works with high-net-worth individuals and family philanthropies focused on power and long-term systems change.
Darren is also the host of the podcast Dreaming in Color: Creating New Narratives in Leadership, which offers leaders of colour space to share how they have leveraged their unique assets and abilities to embrace excellence, drive impact, and more fully define what success looks like
Mariana Mazzucato (PhD) is Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London (UCL), where she is Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose. She is winner of international prizes including the Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana in 2021, Italy’s highest civilian honour, the 2020 John von Neumann Award, the 2019 All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values, and 2018 Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. She is a member of the UK Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) and the Italian Academy of Sciences Lincei.In 2021 she received from the Italian government the title of Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, Italy’s highest civilian honour. In 2025, she was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours List. The late Pope Francis appointed her to the Pontifical Academy for Life for bringing ‘more humanity’ to the world.
