For our final Summer Spotlight this year, meet AWAD UK Chapter Member Sukai Eccleston, founder and CEO of CasildART Contemporary in London. Read on to learn more about Sukai, as she tells us about her business and art world journey, how the gallery diversifies its revenue, and an upcoming exhibition of Black British art to celebrate Black History Month.

What is the name of your business, where are you located and when did you start?

CasildART Contemporary. We started in 2020 as a pop-up gallery and incorporated as a social enterprise in December 2021. We opened our physical gallery in March 2024. Our dedicated focus is on championing the work of contemporary Black artists.

What inspired you to take the leap and start your own business?

Someone once told me I was crazy to do this. When I repeated that to the next person, they said, “Well, it’s only crazy until it proves genius.” So I rolled with that.

CasildART is named after my great‑grandmother, Casilda, whose name means dwelling place. That meaning sits at the centre of everything I do. I wanted to create a home—a dwelling place—for artists of the African diaspora whose work deserved visibility, care and serious curatorial attention. After years in media and cultural work, I knew the gap: brilliant artists, powerful stories, but not enough platforms that understood their context.

I’d experienced something similar working in TV. I understood what it meant to crave creative agency: I had wanted that for myself. So when I realised artists were facing the same barriers, the leap into building CasildART felt inevitable.

And, it’s not such a crazy idea to want this, but it is a challenge. The art world can be elitist and opaque and there are many barriers to entry, but crazy or not, genius or not, it’s a very necessary thing to have a platform like CasildART.

CasildART isn’t about chasing genius; it’s about creating space, dignity, and opportunity. It’s about lineage, artistic expression, and building a home for stories that have been overlooked. And that, to me, is grounding and fulfilling work.

What does your business offer, in terms of goods and services?

CasildART operates a hybrid model. On the cultural side, we curate exhibitions, produce public programmes, and run community‑engagement initiatives that centre artists of the African diaspora. We create spaces for dialogue, learning, and cultural exchange – from talks and workshops to film screenings and curatorial projects.

On the commercial side, we work across art sales, leasing, and corporate consultancy, particularly around culture, inclusion, and organisational storytelling. One important part of our commercial model is venue hire. We rent the gallery to international galleries who want a London presence, especially during busy fair seasons like 1‑54 and Frieze. They use our space as a satellite location: a place to meet clients, extend their fair activity, show additional works, or hold overstock.

This approach not only builds out our ecosystem and strengthens our network, it’s also a viable way to keep the lights on. It allows us to sustain the cultural mission while generating commercial income in a way that aligns with our values.

What is your favorite part about being a Member of the Association of Women Art Dealers?

I joined AWAD for the community. Running a gallery, especially one rooted in diaspora art, can be a lonely, brick‑by‑brick build. AWAD connects you with women who get it and who share knowledge generously.

And the perks help too. The complimentary fair tickets are brilliant. It all expands CasildART’s reach and keeps us plugged into the wider art ecosystem.

At its core, AWAD aligns with what I’m building: belonging, visibility, and women supporting women in the art world.

What was a recent highlight for you in your work?

A recent highlight has to be Sarah Muwanga’s debut solo show. It was a risk for us—the first time we’d ever platformed a self‑taught emerging artist at that scale—but I felt a deep confidence it would land. Sarah is such an extraordinary talent, and CasildART is exactly the kind of home that artists like her deserve: a place that sees them, honours them, and takes their work seriously.

I’m proud we were able to give her that platform. The show was beautifully received, full of energy, curiosity and genuine excitement. It affirmed everything we stand for: backing artists whose voices are powerful long before the wider art world catches up.

It was a successful show – and Sarah is definitely one to watch.

You heard it here first.

If you could own any work of art, what would it be?

It’s difficult to choose. I admire so many artists and so much art , but if you pressed me, I would choose any work by Romare Bearden. His practice feels less like individual artworks and more like a universe: a place where memory, music and everyday Black life gather themselves into something luminous.

I first encountered Bearden as a teenager. The rhythm of cut paper, the tenderness of ordinary scenes, the way he held Black lives with such grace, touched me.

Years later, when I stepped fully into art, I understood it: Bearden is a master storyteller, and storytelling is the ground I stand on too. His work is built from memory, lineage, community—the same currents that shape CasildART. When I look at his collages now, I see the spiritual thread that pulled me in: a sense of return, of belonging, of finding oneself inside one’s own history.

I recognise that instinct in my curatorial work—the themes I follow, the artists whose voices stay with me, the stories I want to bring home. What I’m trying to do at CasildART is a kind of homecoming: bringing artists back to themselves, back to heritage, back to the place where memory becomes strength.

So I couldn’t choose just one Bearden piece. For me, they are all masterpieces—each one a symbol of cultural memory, of return, of the very ethos we are building at CasildART. His work feels like the beginning of a conversation I’ve spent my life continuing.

What would you recommend to any art-lovers visiting your city this summer?

Visit CasildART Contemporary, of course. If you want to experience innovative, bold world‑making art, come and visit us. We’re one of a very small handful of Black‑women‑led galleries in London dedicated to artists of African and Caribbean heritage — and that alone makes us worth the trip.

We’re tucked away in the quaint, quiet pocket of Connaught Village, just off the Edgware Road. It’s a lovely corner of the city: independent shops, great cafés, and—crucial information—the best Basque cheesecake in London. After that, wander over to Hyde Park for a snooze in the sun, at least in the summer. I wouldn’t recommend that at other times of the year.

Any fun summer plans, art-related or otherwise?

CasildART is always lively. We pride ourselves on a warm, welcoming atmosphere—but during the summer we’re open by appointment only. Even so, it’s still a lovely visit: the space has a calm, intimate feel in the summer.

And we’re already gearing up for October, when we open our next exhibition for Black History Month, showcasing Black British art. You won’t want to miss that.

Images courtesy of Sukai Eccleston and CasildART Contemporary