Makayla Bailey is a writer, executive leader, and curator.
Bailey is currently an independent strategic advisor and screenwriter. Prior to starting an independent practice, Makayla Bailey joined Rhizome at the New Museum in 2021, and was appointed Co-Executive Director in 2022, making her one of the youngest Black women to lead a major institution in New York City. Bailey has secured and stewarded more than $3 million in support of art and culture, including transformative support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for Rhizome’s renowned digital preservation program.
Bailey has held curatorial positions at MoMA and The Studio Museum in Harlem, where she co-organized the institution's first digital exhibition, "Hearts in Isolation.” Bailey’s work has been featured in the New York Times, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Artforum, ArtNews, Frieze, Harper’s Bazaar, Hyperallergic, PIN-UP, Essence, and i-D Magazine, and more. Her current research spans environment, ethical stewardship of emerging technologies, and the creation of an equitable historical accounting of born-digital art. She received a B.A. in Studio Art and a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
