About our

Founder

A woman with curly black hair wearing a sleeveless gray top and light blue jeans, standing against a plain white background. 
Zindzi Harley is a dedicated and enthusiastic brand strategist, curator, and creative consultant. She holds a B.A. in Arts Administration with a minor in Art History from the University of Kentucky and an M.A. in Museum Studies from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where her research centered on the activism histories and organizational frameworks of Black museums. As a student, she was among the first DEI Fellows at UArts and participated in the inaugural Museum Professional Seminar at the Studio Museum in Harlem. Harley’s curatorial efforts focus on enriching the narratives and interpretations of contemporary art, material culture, fashion, and design related to the African Diaspora. Previously, Harley served as Assistant Curator at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, where she played a key role in curating exhibitions and programming. She founded the Philadelphia Chapter of Black Girls in Art Spaces, organizing meetups at notable venues like the Philadelphia Magic Gardens and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Additionally, Harley is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Zindzine, a quarterly publication that highlights a wide range of contemporary artists, creatives, and businesses from the East Coast and beyond. Her involvement extends to various Philadelphia entities and historic sites, including roles such as co-curating programming for the 2023 Mural Arts Black Artist Fellowship, managing community programs at Ars Nova Workshop, and curating projects at Past Present Projects. Currently, Zindzi is advancing her studies by pursuing a Ph.D. in Art Theory, Aesthetics, and Philosophy at the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts.
A woman with curly dark hair wearing a sleeveless gray top and light blue jeans standing against a plain light background. 
Currently Zindzi is curating alongside Executive Director and Chief Curator of MoCADA, Amy Andrieux, on the REVOLT Art Fair for Miami Art Basel '25.  After recently accepting the David C. Driskell Center Fellowship '24, Harley is entering year two of her Ph.D. program at IDSVA were she will begin her independent study coursework. She is seeking funding and grant opportunities for Shade: Black Feminist Philosophy as Craft and the Reimagining of the Contemporary Cultural Institution.  Shade investigates the philosophical and aesthetic contributions of Black women to the transformation of museums and cultural institutions. Drawing from Black feminist thought, diasporic poetics, and the expanded concept of social sculpture, the study reinterprets curatorial, archival, and community-based labor as acts of cultural theory and world-building. Harley  highlights Black women’s labor within museums as a living philosophy that reframes the institution as a space of care, collectivity, and aesthetic resistance. Through a synthesis of Black feminist and diasporic thought, their work transforms the museum from a site of display into a social sculpture: a participatory space for healing, relation, and cultural liberation.

ICA: Art Unphiltered

Taylor Maheia (Temple University, C’23) catches up with brand strategist, curator, and creative consultant Zindzi Harley to talk about working at the intersections of curatorial and digital spaces.