MUNTHE ART MONDAY: MICHELLE LEE

Please introduce yourself and tell us about what you do.

My name is Michelle Lee Medjeral-Thomas and I’m the director and curator of Wilder Gallery, that I founded during COVID-lockdown in 2020 and we opened the gallery doors in April 2021. Wilder Gallery is a woman-owned gallery showcasing emerging and contemporary art. I come from a multicultural background (Argentinian, Singaporean, Germany and Croatian), which has informed my fascination with ideas of identity and belonging. I’m also a mother of three gorgeous children. Our exhibition programme champions women artists and our online exhibition programme fundraises for artist- and gallery-nominated charitable causes, such as Trussell trust, Cancer Research UK, Brain Tumour Charity, Mind Charity and The British Red Cross.

Michelle is wearing Jelima silk shirt and Arum silk pants.

Can you name some other female (gallery owners or women in the arts) that inspires you and explain why they do so?

I’m inspired by the artists we work, who include new graduate, self-taught and more established artists. I deeply admire their creativity, business acumen and strength. We actively collaborate with women independent curators and gallerists to strengthen and diversify our curatorial programme and bring different voices to the conversation. This is integral to our mission to prioritize our platform to champion women artists and women in the arts.

What has been the most challenging aspect of being a woman in the arts?

The art world can be a tricky environment to navigate, with perceptions of nepotism and elitism and a general lack of transparency. I’m an outsider to that world. In addition to being a woman, I’m not from an established collecting family and I don’t have wealthy art connections. The gallery I have created, I created on my own. I started my first gallery a decade ago and bought my first gallery space by taking a mortgage on my home. I have navigated my path independently and within my means, which inevitably necessitates doing things differently to how others might. Setting up my own gallery, and not working for a large or more established gallery, was a choice I made to provide the flexibility and independence to both work and raise my family. This journey has presented a number of challenges, in particular juggling career commitments and motherhood, including feelings of guilt and limitations on time.

Could you explain more about how being a woman has affected your career?

My career has always been deeply intertwined with motherhood and raising my children. Prioritizing a balance between work-life and being present for my children is at the forefront of my decision making. For example, our weekday gallery opening hours mirror school hours. As such, I’m able to work in my gallery, collect my children from school, and then continue to work from home in the evening. In terms of our gallery programme, we have chosen to champion women artists and to collaborate with women curators and galleries. Parenthood means it’s not always possible to attend evening openings or networking events. Instead, I am creating and building my own network of women artists, creatives and entrepreneurs to foster collaboration and business development.

What would you like people to notice in the way you work with your gallery?

We are an independent gallery and with that comes a beautiful freedom to work with artists that resonate with our programme and with my interests as a curator and collector. We are based in Kensal Rise, a neighborhood in North-West London teeming with independent businesses and home to young families and creatives in art, music and the film industry. Our non-central location means our overheads are low and further facilitates a creative freedom that doesn’t need to be commercially driven. I have a small and lovely support team that help me bring my vision to fruition, who I appreciate greatly. However, I am involved in every aspect of how the gallery operates, from its daily administration to it’s wider creative programme. As such, the gallery is a real labor of love, very deeply personal and can be a bit tricky to disentangle from, which I’m sure other founders and small business owners can relate to. We champion artists I genuinely admire and collect and, consequently, I speak with clients and collectors from a shared position of excitement and admiration. The gallery is personal to me and I hope this comes through to artists, collectors, visitors, neighbours and the general public. Our gallery is young and ambitious and we have proven ourselves to be a tastemaker gallery that can hold our own in a competitive art market. I hope people can discover, experience and enjoy my gallery and the outstanding talent of the artists we work with.

Michelle is wearing Toria T-shirt and Arum silk pants.

Foto credit: Damelza Lightfoot