Curation is all about bringing people together to discover what’s at the heart of an exhibit, or learning what an institution wants to value. This “discovery” process is key to anyone who is trying to create an inviting retail environment that generates sales.
My years of working in museum, art gallery and retail store curation can help you target your clientele. This expertise has been invaluable in teaching clients how to setup a successful retail space. I have curated more than 80 shows and galleries, museums, retail spaces, historical societies and private collections. A selection of my curation work is below.
“The Living Land”
Hanford Reach Interpretive Center, Richland, Washington, 2014
“The Living Land” is a story originally written by author and historian Mary Schlick and others about the tribes who for thousands of years fished, hunted and gathered along the Hanford Reach National Monument in the Columbia River Basin. I gathered artifacts from some of Schlick’s historic collections, other museums, private collectors, and contemporary Native American artists’ works to interpret the story.
This major exhibition is on display until 2016. For more information or to see the exhibit, please check this link.
“Birds of Freedom”
Falcon Art Community, Portland, Oregon, 2013
Samir Khurshid, a former portrait painter to Saddam Hussein, showed his latest body of work in a solo show I curated. The paintings dealt with Khurshid’s life, home, freedom, fighting and change.
“Big River Moon: A Celebration of Red Lodge Transition Services”
Portland, Oregon, 2010
For “Big River Moon,” I selected contemporary pieces from my private collection and invited Native American artists, storytellers and musicians to join in a joyous celebration and fundraiser for Red Lodge Transition Services, a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting Native Americans who have been released from jails and prisons, and reducing incarceration by empowering individuals, families and communities.
“A Love of Liberty – 100 years on the Western Frontier (Exhibit and Lecture)
Bonnie Kahn’s Wild West Gallery, Portland, Oregon, 2005
From 1890 to 1927, Samuel Waller, a Buffalo Soldier who fought on the American frontier, worked with the U.S. Army photographing historic events including:
- The Battle of Wounded Knee
- Pancho Villa’s chase to Mexico
- Siberia after World War I
Waller’s unpublished photos, now owned by his grandson, Anthony Powell, give a rare glimpse of the dynamic role of an African American soldier during this time. In addition, Powell included rare momentos from the battles in which Samuel participated as part of the lecture.
“Lewis and Clark: Two Views Through Native American Eyes”
Bonnie Kahn’s Wild West Gallery, Portland, Oregon, 2004
This exhibit was a look back over 200 years in our nation’s history through the eyes of Native Americans. It was a celebration of discoveries, a time to mourn those who passed before us, and an opportunity to remember the lessons of our ancestors.
For me, this exhibit was very personal because it was an opportunity for Native Americans to discuss the impact of Lewis and Clark and address the fact that Lewis and Clark did not “discover” anyone. The people were already here.
The Dr. and Mrs. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Museum of Native American Art
Portland, Oregon, 1994-2004
For a decade I curated the Dr. and Mrs. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Collection, one of the top private Native American art collections in North America. It has been the subject of public and private museum shows throughout the Northwest, and received extensive coverage on television, and in newspapers and other media.
Check this link for more information about the collection.
“Keeping the Spirit Alive: American Indian Art from the Dr. and Mrs. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Collection”
Oregon Historical Society, Portland, Oregon, 2000
“Keeping the Spirit Alive” featured more than 90 items from the Pamplin collection and documented the work of Native American artists over the past 200 years. The show revealed how past artists influenced and inspired the work being made today by Native Americans.
To view an Oregon Art Beat video of one of the contemporary artists, Maynard Whiteowl Lavadour, doing traditional American Indian beadwork, select this link.