Curatorial Statement
I curate choreographically. That is, I engage with both structure and movement, paying attention to an initial inclination and then following that inclination with precise desire. My goals as a curator include: to respond to the specific context of an exhibition’s site (where is the show? who is the audience? what is the function?), to create a platform for dialogue, to provide access to an artist, material, or idea, to facilitate points of contact between individuals and communities, and as a method of aesthetic inquiry. My exhibitions have featured regional, national, and internationally-known artists and collectives such as Leslie Dill and Juan Manuel Echavarría, Lauren Kalman and New Craft Artists in Action. I integrate the work of poets, musicians, and performance artists into my curatorial practice. Each exhibition encourages the audience to interact on different registers: with a piece of work directly, with the broader theme or concept, via a responsive or participatory element, through solitary contemplation, or through shared discussion. I am fortunate to do much of my curatorial work at an academic institution. Our mission is educational in nature, but we interpret education quite broadly: it can be personal, scholarly, emotional, civic, artistic, environmental, political or philosophical. We are responsive, rather than prescriptive. Because the gallery is staffed, it gives us the opportunity to work with visitors as individuals, bringing with them an expansive and diverse set of subject positions when they walk through our doors. The exhibitions themselves sometimes change throughout their duration: new works may be brought in, reactions to works may be integrated into the signage, and off-the-cuff prototyping, critical reflections, or spontaneous spoken word may appear... The exhibition format is meant to be a bit destabilizing: I hope that viewers find only some of what they desire, and that they also discover, and relish, previously unknown territories.