How Gallerist Hannah Traore Celebrates Her Malian Heritage Through Art

Hannah Traore was destined to enter the creative space. It was art that brought the gallerist’s parents together: Her Canadian mother was traveling around West Africa, searching for artwork to sell in Toronto, when she met Traore’s Malian father. “Our house was filled with art from my dad’s country, so it was a big part of my upbringing,” says Traore, 30. “I’ve always loved being surrounded by those pieces and that part of my history. At the same time, I was raised going to museums and taking art classes, and my grandmother was a painter with an incredible collection of her own. So before I could talk, I really was seeing and making art.”

Despite an early appreciation for art—and a childhood “obsession” with Degas’s “Little Dancer” sculptures, in particular—Traore didn’t see it as a career. “My preschool report card said I wanted to be a Spice Girl, a mother, and a teacher,” she laughs. Ultimately, Traore opted to study art history at Skidmore College, where she curated an exhibition on African and Black art at the Tang Teaching Museum for her senior thesis.

Following a yearlong internship at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), she opened the Hannah Traore Gallery in 2022 on New York’s Lower East Side. Its mission? To showcase the work of underrepresented artists. “I wanted them to be seen for their actual art, instead of being tokenized because of their identity,” she says. “I felt there was a sense of community missing in the gallery space. I still see elitism in the art world, but I’m doing this for me and my people. The old guard—that’s not my center.”

Traore’s already made a name for herself. Her first museum acquisition was a full-circle moment, with artist Misha Japanwala’s sculpture acquired by Traore’s alma mater. She takes immense pride in every show, buying pieces from her exhibitors, including Japanwala, Camila Falquez, James Perkins, Anya Paintsil, Turiya Adkins, and Hassan Hajjaj. “It’s a beautiful way to show the artists how much I care,” says Traore, who’s currently featuring a Shihori Yamamoto installation and Jose Duran’s paintings in her space. “There’s so much sameness and oversaturation in the art world. When I see a piece and think, I’ve never seen that before, that’s what I want for the gallery.”

As much as she searches for new artists, Traore hunts for treasures for her personal archive. “I know if I want to live with a piece based on how it makes me feel,” she says, citing food-themed artwork, an Egon Schiele drawing (inherited from her grandmother), and a Bre Andy painting from Cierra Britton Gallery among her eclectic mix. She also has a vast West African art collection, which includes a ceramic sculpture of a breastfeeding mother that Traore found at an antique market in Mali two years ago. The cherished piece sits in her entryway, right next to a family portrait from her gallery opening. “I just adore it,” she says. “I am super-proud to be half Malian, and to have been raised within the Malian culture and among its art. That’s why this piece is the first thing you see when you come into my home.”

This story appears in the L'OFFICIEL May 2025 issue. Buy it here.