Helen Molesworth invites curator Mark Godfrey and artists Arthur Jafa and Steve Locke to discuss the work of Kerry James Marshall on the occasion of his acclaimed survey exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London.

Kerry James Marshall: The Histories is on view through January 18, 2026 and will travel next to the Kunsthaus Zürich in Zurich, Switzerland, and the Musée d’art Moderne in Paris, France.

Mark Godfrey is the curator of Kerry James Marshall: The Histories at the Royal Academy of Arts. He is co-director of New Curators, a one-year curatorial training program for international curators from lower socio-economic backgrounds. He was Senior Curator, International Art at Tate Modern from 2007-2021.

Arthur Jafa is an artist and filmmaker whose practice comprises films, artefacts and happenings that reference and question the universal and specific articulations of Black being. 

Steve Locke is a contemporary artist and educator based in Brooklyn, New York.