Hamza Walker approaches contemporary art with a humor and daring that has gained him national acclaim. He is the Director of Education and Associate Curator for the Renaissance Society, the non-collecting museum of contemporary art at The University of Chicago. In 2013, he participated in a symposium discussing issues related to his 2008 curated exhibition, Black Is, Black Ain't. The exhibition explored a shift in the rhetoric of race from an earlier emphasis on inclusion to a moment where racial identity was being simultaneously rejected and retained.
He has written articles and reviews for publications such as Trans, New Art Examiner, and Artforum. He is currently on the boards of Noon, an annual publication of short fiction, and Lamp, a non-projit presenter of new and experimental music. He holds a BA in Art History from the University of Chicago and is the recipient of the 2010 Ordwell Prize, the 2004 Walter Hopps Award for Curatorial Achievement, and the 1999 Norton Curatorial Gran. In 2001, The New York Times named Walker on the seven most influential curators in the country.
