LONDON — Misan Harriman will step down as chair of the Southbank Centre in the autumn of 2026, after deciding not to seek a third term. Harriman confirmed his decision in a social media post.

Harriman has held the position since 2021. "It's semi-public knowledge that my term is coming to an end anyway," he said. He added, "It takes a long time to find whoever the next chair will be, and that process will begin at some point, and I'll update you more on exact dates and timelines probably in autumn."

A spokesperson for the Southbank Centre confirmed Harriman made the decision to depart in January. "Misan confirmed with the deputy chair in January that he would not be seeking a third term and would step down in the autumn of 2026," the spokesperson said. "Succession planning is already underway, with further details to be confirmed following our AGM in July." The spokesperson said the departure was not connected to an antisemitism row.

Harriman rose to prominence as a photographer of Black Lives Matter protests. In May, the Telegraph accused Harriman of sharing a social media post containing a conspiracy theory about the Golders Green attack. The post questioned the coverage given to Muslim victim Ishmail Hussein. Harriman was also criticized for comments made after England's local election results regarding Reform voters. He quoted Susan Sontag in a video, saying, "She said when thinking about the Holocaust, 10% of people in any population are cruel no matter what, and 10% is merciful no matter what and the other – this is important – the other remaining 80% could be moved in either direction." Harriman added, "In the context of yesterday's election result, it is something which I think is really topical."

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy received letters from parliamentarians both condemning and supporting Harriman. Greta Thunberg, Tracey Emin, and Gary Lineker signed an open letter in support of Harriman, and an online campaign garnered more than 100,000 signatures. Harriman lodged an official complaint with the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) regarding coverage by the Times, the Telegraph, and GB News. Harriman has more than 500,000 followers on Instagram.