With Dana Farouki, Komal Shah, Jasmine Wahi, and Noah Horowitz, moderated by Gabriela Palmieri

Centering access, equity, and knowledge-building, the conversation explores how those with power in the art world can meaningfully support artists working across borders while challenging exclusionary systems, and not just one time but as a sustained practice. Bringing together, collectors, curators, and cultural leaders, our panelists will discuss the infrastructures in place and those needed in order to build and sustain ongoing practices of collecting work from the Global Majority, particularly in a time of increasing political restriction and global inequality. 

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Bios

‍Dana Farouki is a cultural strategist, curator and patron, specializing in contemporary art from the Middle East. Farouki was the first member of the Guggenheim Museum Abu Dhabi curatorial staff.  Until 2018, she oversaw the largest commissioning based prize for artists from the MENASA in collaboration with Art Dubai.  She serves as an advisor to the Diriyah Biennale. She is currently a Trustee of MoMA PS1, Bidoun Projects and  Creative Time. She is the founding Chair of The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation’s Middle East Circle.  In 2023, she received the Anderson Ranch Art Center Service to the Arts Award.

Originally from Ahmedabad, India, Komal Shah migrated to the US in 1991 to study computer science in California. After completing her Masters at Stanford, she earned an MBA from the Haas School of Business at Berkeley, eventually holding positions in the executive suites of Oracle, Netscape, and Yahoo. In 2008, Shah left the tech industry to focus on philanthropic pursuits. She then began developing the Shah Garg Collection with her husband and tech entrepreneur Gaurav Garg, solidifying a vision for the collection’s emphasis on women artists in 2014. Today, they are focused on amplifying the voices of women artists through the Making Their Mark Foundation.

‍Jasmine Wahi is a curator and cultural leader known for her intersectional approach to art and social justice. She is the Founder and Co-Director of Project for Empty Space, an organization committed to creating inclusive, equity-driven cultural spaces. Formerly the Holly Block Social Justice Curator at the Bronx Museum, Wahi’s curatorial work centers on amplifying marginalized voices and challenging institutional inequities. Her projects have been featured nationally, and she is a recipient of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Civic Leadership Award, recognizing her transformative impact in the arts and community engagement.

Noah Horowitz joined Art Basel as CEO in 2022, having previously held the post of Director Americas from 2015 to 2021. As CEO, he steers the overall vision and strategy for the world's leading Modern and contemporary art fair, continuously advancing and innovating its physical and digital platforms. Noah served as Worldwide Head of Gallery & Private Dealer Services at Sotheby's until September 2021, where he led the auction house's business strategy and relationships with the international dealer community. Previously, he held a four-year tenure as Executive Director of The Armory Show in New York, after directing the first-ever online-only fair, VIP Art Fair, from 2010 to 2011. He has a Ph.D. in art history from the Courtauld Institute of Art, London and is the author of Art of the Deal: Contemporary Art in a Global Financial Market (Princeton University Press, 2011). His writings and commentary on art and economics have appeared in publications including The New York Times, Financial Times, Texte zur Kunst, and The Art Newspaper, among others. Noah is a member of the Manhattan Chapter of The Young Presidents' Organization, and lives in New York City with his wife, Louise, and children, Sif and Leo.

‍Gabriela Palmieri is the Founder and Principal of Palmieri Fine Art, Inc. Prior to founding her independent practice, Ms. Palmieri led a distinguished 17-year career at Sotheby's, where she rose to Chairman of Contemporary Art, Americas, becoming recognized as one of the international auction industry’s foremost specialists in Post-War and Contemporary Art. Ms. Palmieri founded PFA to provide collectors with the unbiased, objective, and transparent counsel that today's increasingly complex and borderless art market demands — bringing rigorous analysis and due diligence to bear for established and new collectors worldwide. Her practice has guided some of the field's most significant single-owner collection sales, most recently advising both Selections from the Collection of Barbara Gladstone and Im Spazio: The Collection of Daniella Luxembourg in Sotheby's May 2025 Contemporary Evening Sales. Ms. Palmieri serves as Trustee and Vice Chair of the Board of El Museo del Barrio, New York's leading Latin American cultural institution, and is a longtime member of the Anderson Ranch National Council, where she also acts as their trusted auctioneer for the annual gala, having previously served as a Trustee. She regularly lends her time pro bono as charity auctioneer to institutions such as the New Museum, Independent Curators International (ICI), and the Maestro Cares Foundation, which supports disadvantaged children and communities in Latin America and the United States led by Marc Anthony and Henry Cárdenas. Before joining Sotheby’s, Ms. Palmieri received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History cum laude at Boston College in 1997 and went on to achieve her Master of Arts and advance to PhD standing at the University of Chicago.

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