Art curator
Returning to NXTHVN, the Incubator for Artists and Curators of Colour
RECLAMATION at Sean Kelly, New York underscores that the titular act can operate in a multiplicity of modes and on many scales
In 2018, painter Titus Kaphar cofounded NXTHVN, an arts incubator devoted to fostering professional development among emerging artists and curators of colour. The forward-looking nonprofit – the acronym denotes ‘Next Haven’ – is located in the historically Black neighbourhood of Dixwell in New Haven, in close proximity to Yale University’s MFA programme, through which a number of notable artists, many of whom are artists of colour, have passed in recent years (among them are Wangechi Mutu, Mickalene Thomas and Kaphar himself). RECLAMATION spotlights NXTHVN’s fourth fellowship cohort. Organised by curatorial fellows Cornelia Stokes and Kiara Cristina Ventura, the heterogeneous presentation assembles painting, mixed media work, sculpture, installation and video by the group’s six studio fellows. The show’s thematic webbing, while loose, repeatedly returns to the question of how prevailing icons – be they cultural, art historical or religious – might be remade and reclaimed by contemporary artists whose backgrounds or lived experiences are often not reflected by such imagery.
Read more: https://artreview.com/reclamation-nxthvn-sean-kelly-new-york-review/
As we close 2024 and read all the year-end wrap-ups of art, music, books, movies, and films, we wondered what would Denver Art Museum curators include on their lists of top arts and culture moments of the year?
Check out the roundup below from five of our curators (arranged in alphabetical order), which spans art and artists across multiple genres from Denver to Dakar.
Darrin Alfred, Curator of Architecture and Design
1. The Denver Art Museum’s Biophilia: Nature Reimagined and the Denver Botanic Gardens’ River’s Voice: Textiles by Alexandra Kehayoglou – Two significant exhibitions this summer highlighted humanity’s bond with nature. At the DAM, Biophilia: Nature Reimagined invited visitors to reconnect with nature through architecture, art, and design, featuring Alexandra Kehayoglou’s newly acquired Bajío (2024), a hand-tufted wool rug reflecting cultural heritage and memory. Meanwhile, the Denver Botanic Gardens’ River’s Voice presented Kehayoglou’s immersive large-scale textiles, creating a culturally rich moment that bridged themes of ecology, design, and identity.
Read more: https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/blog/dam-curators-top-arts-moments-2024
Dame Rosalind Savill, who was the director of one of the UK’s major art collections for nearly 20 years, has died age 73.
The former Wallace Collection director and art historian died on Friday following a short illness, her family confirmed to the PA news agency.
She began her career as an assistant in the ceramics department of London’s Victoria And Albert Museum, before moving to the Wallace Collection.
Dame Rosalind was first appointed as an assistant in 1974 and became an assistant director of the London fine art attraction in 1978.
On Saturday 16 November 2024 a new exhibition opened in the Gregynog Gallery at the National Library of Wales, which combines his substantial collection with items from the National Art Collection at the National Library of Wales for the first time in order to tell this important story.
Peter Lord’s collection of Welsh art and artefacts, many of which are on public display for the first time, looks at the allegation made by Griffith in 1950, and upheld by many others afterwards. His belief is that pictures should be valued not only visually but for what they say about the story of the nation.
The exhibition is a unique opportunity to view and enjoy over 250 works of art of national significance. With a central narrative running throughout, the story starts with the visual world of the gentry, middle classes and common people and moves on to various depictions of Welsh identities. Through this, it reveals the richness of Wales’ visual culture as well as Wales’ social and political history.
Read more: https://www.artdependence.com/articles/there-s-no-welsh-art-a-new-exhibition-challenges-the-myth/
