The Curatorial Roundtable, an international forum for curators and institutional leaders to discuss formative and current projects, is hosted by Steven Henry Madoff, Founding Chair of the MA Curatorial Practice at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Curated by Kjersti Solbakken and titled SPARKS, Lofoten International Art Festival – LIAF 2024 was inspired by the history of the Lofoten Line: one of the world's first experiments in wireless telegraphic communication, which was developed in Lofoten, Norway, in the nineteenth century. The festival constituted a vibrant network of temporary connections, featuring a large exhibition spread across a number of venues alongside a program of lectures and readings, performances, concerts, workshops, and talks in dialogue with a wide range of collaborators and cross-institutional partnerships. Solbakken will present her work on the festival and reflect on how curating LIAF 2024 consisted of archival approaches as well as infrastructural experiments, attempting to discover new ways to write at a distance or signal from a far.

Kjersti Solbakken is a curator, writer, and institutional leader based in Bergen, Norway. Solbakken recently assumed the role of director at Bergen Kunsthall, a center for contemporary art presenting a vibrant program of exhibitions, events, and learning activities, established in 1839. She is the curator of Lofoten International Art Festival (LIAF) 2024, the longest-running art biennial in Scandinavia, presenting works by local and international artists in a location-conscious context. Inspired by the history of the Lofoten Line, one of the world’s first experiments in wireless telegraphic communication, developed in Lofoten in the 19th century, the festival constitutes a vibrant network of temporary connections, featuring a large exhibition spread across multiple venues alongside a program of lectures and readings, performances, concerts, workshops, and talks in dialogue with a wide range of collaborators and cross-institutional partnerships.

Solbakken previously held the position of director at Kunstnerforbundet, one of Scandinavia’s oldest artist-run exhibition spaces, where she oversaw the establishment of Atelier Kunstnerforbundet, a studio collective and network of art enthusiasts focused on engaging the public in the center of Oslo. Other engagements include roles as director of institutions such as Galleri Format and Fotogalleriet in Oslo, and she has curated exhibitions for institutions such as Hordaland Kunstsenter and the Astrup Fearnley Museum. As an active initiator in the self-organized field, she has contributed to the establishment of platforms such as Feil forlag and the project space Holodeck and was, for a period, involved in Tekstallianse, a Nordic festival for micro-publishing and printed matter. She is part of KORO’s curatorial committee LES 2023-2024, a former board member of UKS—Young Artists Society and The Norwegian Association of Curators. Since 2023, she has been an OCA jury member. In 2022, she was granted a curator residency at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) through OCA. She is co-editor of the forthcoming issue of the journal Metode: Currents – Regenerating Pasts for the Not Yet.

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Navigating the art world as a curator, both inside and outside of institutions, is always challenging. In this two-session professional development workshop, including presentations and discussions with audience members, we invite several curators who have emerged as leading voices in recent years to address how they have succeeded, the issues they have faced, how they work within the structures of their institutions, and how they negotiate their curatorial work, given the pressures within institutions and the urgencies of our time. The goal of the workshop is to share histories and strategies and to network with other curators in the field.

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The Curatorial Roundtable, an international forum for curators and institutional leaders to discuss formative and current projects, is hosted by Steven Henry Madoff, Founding Chair of the MA Curatorial Practice at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Zeynep Öz is a curator and writer. She was the Co-founder and Director of the Spot Production Fund, Istanbul (2011–2017), during which time she curated the series “Produce” (I, II, III), commissioning more than 30 projects. Öz curated the off-site Sharjah Biennial 13 project Bahar in Istanbul (2017) as an SB13 interlocutor and has edited and published numerous publications within the scope of the Produce” series and Bahar. Other curatorial projects include Abou Farid’s War, TBA21 on st_age (2021); the BACA exhibition of Marwan Rechmaoui’s work, Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, which traveled to Sharjah Art Foundation (both 2019); Pavilion of Turkey, 58th Venice Biennale (2019); Aichi Triennale 3 (2016); and Greatest Common Factor, SALT, Istanbul (2016). Öz taught at Boğaziçi University, Istanbul (2015–2020), and she served on the curricular and selection committees of the Home Workspace Program, Ashkal Alwan.

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The Curatorial Roundtable, an international forum for curators and institutional leaders to discuss formative and current projects, is hosted by Steven Henry Madoff, Founding Chair of the MA Curatorial Practice at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Nick Aikens is a curator, researcher, editor, and educator. He is the Managing Editor of L’Internationale Online. He assumed his role in 2023 as part of the four-year, EU-funded project “Museum of the Commons.” From 2012–2023, Aikens was a curator at the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, where he worked on numerous exhibitions and publications as well as leading the research program Deviant Practice (2016–2019). He was a tutor and course leader at the Dutch Art Institute in Arnhem (2012–2019) and a guest professor in the department of Exhibitions and Scenography at Karlsruhe University (2023–2024).

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The Curatorial Roundtable, an international forum for curators and institutional leaders to discuss formative and current projects, is hosted by Steven Henry Madoff, Founding Chair of the MA Curatorial Practice at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

In this presentation, Lisa Long will speak about her curatorial approach to time-based art, emphasizing the interplay between exhibition dramaturgy, affect, and the political and ethical dimensions of contemporary image production. Drawing on three key projects from her tenure as curator at the Julia Stoschek Foundation, Long will introduce her concept of "exhibition as sensual montage,” a curatorial adaptation of Sergei Eisenstein’s cinematic theory of montage.

Since 2019, Lisa Long has served as Curator and Artistic Director of the Julia Stoschek Foundation in Berlin, one of the world’s most significant collections of time-based art, where she curates large-scale exhibitions, performances, and public programs. Long’s artist-driven curatorial approach amplifies transdisciplinary practices from around the globe, engaging with forms of critical inquiry and storytelling. Her recent group exhibitions include Unbound: Performance as Rupture (2023), examining how the body disrupts the status quo through the camera; and After Images (2024), a recalibration of sight and contemporary image culture; at dawn (2022), envisioning formal and collective utopias; and A Fire in My Belly (2021), exploring artists' negotiations with violence. She has also presented the first solo exhibitions in Germany of numerous artists, including Sophia Al-Maria, Meriem Bennani, Stephanie Comilang & Simon Speiser, Ulysses Jenkins, Rindon Johnson, (LA)HORDE, WangShui, and Young-Jun Tak. In addition, Long is the founder of Companion Studies, a digital journal exploring expanded curatorial practices and has taught curatorial studies at Folkwang University in Essen, Germany.

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The Curatorial Roundtable, an international forum for curators and institutional leaders to discuss formative and current projects, is hosted by Steven Henry Madoff, Founding Chair of the MA Curatorial Practice at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

As Professor of Artistic Research (Finnish Academy of Fine Art 2010-2015) and as Dean of MaHKU Utrecht, Henk Slager has made significant contributions to the debate on the role of research in visual art. In 2004, with Jan Kaila and Gertrud Sandqvist, he initiated the European Artistic Research Network (EARN), a network that investigates the impacts of artistic research on current art education through symposia, expert meetings, and presentations. Slager has also produced and co-produced many curatorial projects, including Flash Cube (Leeum, Seoul, 2007), Translocalmotion (7th Shanghai Biennale 2008), Nameless Science (Apex Art, New York, 2009), As the Academy Turns (Collaborative project Manifesta, 2010), Tamara Kvesitadze: Any-medium-whatever (Georgian Pavilion, Venice Biennale, 2011), TAR – Temporary Autonomous Research (Amsterdam Pavilion, Shanghai Biennale 2012), Doing Research (dOCUMENTA 13, 2012), Offside Effect (1st Tbilisi Triennial, 2012), Joyful Wisdom (Parallel Project, Istanbul Biennial, 2013), Modernity 3.0 (80 WSE Gallery NYU New York, 2014), Aesthetic Jam (Parallel Project Taipei Biennial) and Experimentality (1st Research Pavilion, Venice Biennale, 2015), Asia Time (5th Guanzhou Triennial 2015-16), To Seminar (BAK, Utrecht, 2017), The Utopia of Access (2nd Research Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2017), Freedom, What was that all about? (7th Kuandu Biennale, Taipei 2018), Research Ecologies (3rd Research Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2019), and 9th Bucharest Biennale (2020). He published The Pleasure of Research, an overview of educational and curatorial research projects from 2007-2014, with Hatje Cantz 2015.

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Announcing the launch of The Curatorial, a new international online journal devoted to the field of curatorial work in both practice and theory. In long-form essays, interviews, conversations, portfolios, reviews, and videos, the journal fosters interdisciplinary discussions among diverse voices at the intersection of art, culture, philosophy, and politics.

For the launch, founding Editor in Chief Steven Henry Madoff will introduce the journal, and one of its first contributors, renowned Australian art historian and theorist Terry Smith, will deliver a talk focusing on the contemporary network of institutions and structures that approximate what he calls the “visual arts exhibitionary complex,” considering its current state and how it may change under the pressures of our extraordinary moment of global upheaval.

Attendees can join via Zoom. The link will be sent one day before the event and again on the day of.

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The Curatorial Roundtable, an international forum for curators and institutional leaders to discuss formative and current projects, is hosted by Steven Henry Madoff, Founding Chair of the MA Curatorial Practice at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Magali Arriola is an independent curator, writer and researcher. She was Director of Museo Tamayo in Mexico City (2019- 2024) and KADIST Lead Curator for Latin America from 2017 to 2019. Arriola curated the Mexican Pavilion for the 58th Venice Biennial (Pablo Vargas Lugo, Acts of God, 2019). She was Chief Curator at Museo Jumex between 2011 and 2014, where she organized exhibitions of artists such as James Lee Byars (co- curated with Peter Eleey and co-produced with MoMA-PS1), Guy de Cointet, and Danh Vo, and curated shows contextualizing works from the Jumex Collection. Arriola was Chief Curator of Museo Tamayo between 2009 and 2011, where she curated exhibitions and projects with artists such as Roman Ondák, Joachim Koester, Claire Fontaine, Adrià Julia, and Julio Morales. She was visiting curator at the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art in San Francisco in 2006, where she curated Prophets of Deceit.

From 1998 to 2001, Arriola was Chief Curator at the Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil in Mexico City, where she worked with a generation of artists that includes Eduardo Abaroa, Francis Alÿs, Miguel Calderon, Daniela Rossell, and Pablo Vargas Lugo. Her independent projects include Pablo Vargas Lugo, Acts of God, the Mexican Pavilion at the 58 Venice Biennial (2019); The Sweet Burnt Smell of History: The 8th Panama Biennial (2008); What once passed for a future, or The landscapes of the living dead (Art2102, Los Angeles, 2005); How to Learn to Love the Bomb and Stop Worrying about it (CANAIA, México City / Central de Arte at WTC, Guadalajara, Mexico, 2003-2004); Alibis (Mexican Cultural Institute, Paris /Witte de With, Rotterdam, 2002); Erógena (Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil, Mexico City / SMAK/ Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Ghent, 2000); Peter Greenaway, Painting and Artifice (Museo Tamayo, Mexico City, 1997). Arriola has extensively written for books and catalogues and has contributed to publications such as Artforum, Curare, Frieze, Mousse, Manifesta Journal, and The Exhibitionist, among others.

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The Curatorial Roundtable, an international forum for curators and institutional leaders to discuss formative and current projects, is hosted by Steven Henry Madoff, Founding Chair of the MA Curatorial Practice at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Niels Van Tomme is an independent curator and lecturer who works internationally at the intersection of contemporary culture and critical social awareness. He was Director and Chief Curator at Argos Centre for Audiovisual Arts in Brussels (2018-24) and De Appel in Amsterdam (2016-18), Curator at the Bucharest Biennale 7 (2014-16), Visiting Curator at the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture in Baltimore (2011-16), and Director of Arts and Media at Provisions Library in Washington, DC (2008-11). In his projects, Van Tomme collaborates with a wide range of artists, collectives, writers, musicians, and curators. His exhibitions and programs have taken place at the Akademie der Künste (Berlin), The Kitchen (New York), Contemporary Arts Center (New Orleans), Tallinn Art Hall (Tallinn), Gallery 400 (Chicago), Värmlands Museum (Karlstad), National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC), and P! (New York). 

 His writings have appeared in The Wire, Art in America, Camera Austria, Metropolis M, Afterimage, and Art Papers. His edited volumes include Muntadas: About Academia: Activating Artefacts (2017); Aesthetic Justice: Intersecting Artistic and Moral Perspectives (2015), with Pascal Gielen; Visibility Machines: Harun Farocki and Trevor Paglen (2014); and Where Do We Migrate To? (2011). He has contributed to numerous books and exhibition catalogues, such as Christine Sun Kim: Oh Me Oh My (2024) and Tony Cokes: If UR Reading This It’s 2 Late, Vol. 1-3 (2019). Van Tomme regularly writes about music and occasionally provides liner notes for vinyl records by artists such as Hieroglyphic Being and Aki Onda.

 He has held teaching positions at Parsons School of Design at The New School (New York) and University of Maryland Baltimore County and has lectured at institutions such as the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Queen Mary University of London, Vassar College, University at Buffalo, the School of Visual Arts, Valand Academy of Art and Design at University of Gothenburg, and Jan Van Eyck Academy. In 2014, Van Tomme received the Vilcek Curatorial Fellowship by the Foundation for a Civil Society for his demonstrated experience and excellence in engaging with international contemporary art.

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The Curatorial Roundtable, an international forum for curators and institutional leaders to discuss formative and current projects, is hosted by Steven Henry Madoff, Founding Chair of the MA Curatorial Practice at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

How do we encounter climate breakdown? How do we negotiate the impossibly complex? If, as Amitav Ghosh suggests in The Nutmeg’s Curse, the greatest obstacle to facing planetary trouble is not a crisis of means, but one of imagination, then how do we--creative and cultural practitioners, whose lives are dedicated to the possibilities of the imagination--participate in nurturing and encouraging a renewed sense of our purpose?

In this presentation, Pietroiusti will bring stories from her own curatorial practice, from the General Ecology project (2018-ongoing) to Songs for the Changing Seasons, Vienna's first Climate Biennale (2024). To help her do so, Pietroiusti will rely upon the intelligences of many different ecologies (environmental, psychic, organizational, social, human, and more-than-human), in order to think through how these are inextricably tangled up with one another, and what directions they may point towards, for both creative and systemic practices, in a moment of profound transformation.

Lucia Pietroiusti is Head of Ecologies at Serpentine, London. As a curator, programmer, and organizational strategist, she works at the intersection of art, ecology, and systems, often outside of the exhibition space. Ecologies at Serpentine is a holistic initiative and purpose-led department aimed at embedding environmental responsibility throughout the organization’s infrastructure, operations, networks, and programming. Pietroiusti was the founder of Serpentine’s General Ecology project and the curator of Sun & Sea (Lithuanian Pavilion, 2019 Venice Biennale and ongoing tour). Together with Filipa Ramos, she is the curator of Songs for the Changing Seasons (Vienna Climate Biennale, 2024); Persones Persons (8th Biennale Gherdeïna, 2022); and The Shape of a Circle in the Mind of a Fish (research, festival, podcast and publication series). Pietroiusti is also a curator of Sites of… Practice (E-WERK Luckenwalde, 2024), Back to Earth (Serpentine, 2020-22), and Infinite Ecologies Marathon (2023-24). Recent publications include More-than-Human (with Andrés Jaque and Marina Otero Verzier) and Microhabitable (with Fernando García-Dory).

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The Curatorial Roundtable, an international forum for curators and institutional leaders to discuss formative and current projects, is hosted by Steven Henry Madoff, Founding Chair of the MA Curatorial Practice at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Julieta González is Head of Exhibitions at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, and Curator-at-Large for Modern and Contemporary Art at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo. Prior to that, she was Artistic Director at Inhotim, Brazil, Artistic Director at Museo Jumex in Mexico City, Chief Curator at the Museo Rufino Tamayo in Mexico City, and Adjunct Curator at the Bronx Museum in New York. From 2009–12, she was Associate Curator of Latin American Art at Tate Modern, London, and an independent curator. She was curator of contemporary art at the Museo Alejandro Otero (1999–2001) and Museo de Bellas Artes de Caracas (1994–97 and 2001–03). González was co-curator of the 2nd Trienal Poligráfica de San Juan, Latinoamérica y el Caribe with Jens Hofmann, along with Artistic Director Adriano Pedrosa and guest curator Beatriz Santiago. She has curated and co-curated more than 60 exhibitions, including Memories of Underdevelopment, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (as part of Pacific Standard Time Latin America in LA); Franz Erhard Walther: Objects to Use/ Instruments for Processes, Museo Jumex;  Lina Bo Bardi: Habitat (in partnership with MASP); GeGo: Measuring Infinity (in partnership with MASP and the Guggenheim Museum), all at Museo Jumex; Juan Downey: A Communications Utopia (2013); Rita McBride: Public Transaction (2013); Tomorrow Was Already Here (2012), all at the Museo Tamayo in Mexico City; Ways of Working: The Incidental Object, Fondazione Merz, Turin (2013); Parque Industrial, Galeria Luisa Strina, São Paulo (2012); Juan Downey: El ojo pensante, Fundación Telefónica, Santiago, Chile (2010); Farsites, Insite San Diego/Tijuana (adjunct curator with curator Adriano Pedrosa, 2005); Etnografía modo de empleo, Museo de Bellas Artes de Caracas (2003); and Demonstration Room: Ideal House (with Jesús Fuenmayor, 2000–02), Museo Alejandro Otero, Caracas. González has edited several artist books and written essays for international publications and catalogs. She holds an MA in Cultural Studies from Goldsmiths, London, was a Helena Rubinstein Curatorial Fellow at the Whitney Independent Study Program (1997–98), and studied architecture at the Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas and at the École d’Architecture Paris-Villemin in Paris.

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The Curatorial Roundtable, an international forum for curators and institutional leaders to discuss formative and current projects, is hosted by Steven Henry Madoff, Founding Chair of the MA Curatorial Practice at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

João Laia is Artistic Director of the Department of Contemporary Art of the Municipality of Porto. Previously, he was the chief curator for exhibitions at Kiasma, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland. In 2021, together with Valentinas Klimašauskas, he curated the 14th edition of the Baltic Triennial at the CAC, Contemporary Art Center in Vilnius. Other Recent include Masks (2020) and 10000 Years Later Between Venus and Mars (2017-18), Oporto City Hall Gallery; In Free Fall (2019), CaixaForum, Barcelona; Vanishing Point (2019), Cordoaria Nacional, Lisbon; Drowning in a sea of Data (2019) and Transmissions from the Etherspace (2017), La Casa Encendida, Madrid; foreign bodies (2018), P420, Bologna; H Y P E R C O N N E C T E D (2016),  MMOMA – Moscow Museum of Modern Art; and Hybridize or Disappear (2015), MNAC, National Museum of Contemporary Art in Lisbon. Laia also co-curated the 19th and 20th editions of Videobrasil (2014–18) in São Paulo. Other exhibitions, performance programs, and screenings have been held at Parque Lage (Rio de Janeiro), Moderna Museet (Stockholm), Xcèntric / CCCB (Barcelona), Videoex (Zürich), Calouste Gulben, Kurzfilmtage – International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and Cell Project Space, DRAF (David Roberts Art Foundation), Delfina Foundation, South London Gallery, and Whitechapel Gallery (all in London). In 2012-13, he attended the post-graduate research program CuratorLab at Konstfack, Stockhom and in 2014 was part of the curatorial residency of Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin. He edited A Multiple Community (São Paul: SESC publishing, 2018), co-edited Daniel Steegmann Mangrané’s monograph Spiral Forest (Milano: Mousse, 2018), and has published articles in Flash Art, frieze, Mousse, Spike, and Terremoto.

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Hear from the head of the MA Curatorial Practice program about every aspect of our program in the center of New York City. Our rigorous training in practice, history, and theory will prepare you for your professional work in the curatorial field. Attendees will receive an $80 application fee waiver if they apply for Summer 2025 or Fall 2025 admission. Note: This waiver will be applied to the email address used to register for this event. It is important to use the same email address consistently throughout the entire application process. Please note that we welcome individual meetings on Zoom or in-person to discuss the application and the program.

SVA wants to ensure persons with disabilities have access to this event. If you are a person with a disability who requires accommodations to access or participate in this event, please reach out to the MA Curatorial Practice department at macp@sva.edu or to SVA Disability Resources disabilityresources@sva.edu at least 7 business days prior to the event.

Register here. If you have questions regarding this event please email us at macp@sva.edu.

The MA Curatorial Practice program at the School of Visual Arts gives you professional hands-on training with a faculty of renowned curators and guests from around the world to fully prepare you with the skills and knowledge you need to get hired as a professional in the field. Scholarships are available for your training in our two-year master's degree program. Have questions about your application to make it stand out? Drop into our Zoom Q&A session to chat with Chair Steven Henry Madoff, who will walk you through the application and answer all of your questions.

Attendees will receive an $80 application fee waiver if they apply for Summer 2025 or Fall 2025 admission. Note: This waiver will be applied to the email address used to register for this event. It is important to use the same email address consistently throughout the entire application process.

Please note that we welcome individual meetings on Zoom or in-person to discuss the application and the program.

SVA wants to ensure persons with disabilities have access to this event. If you are a person with a disability who requires accommodations to access or participate in this event, please reach out to the MA Curatorial Practice department at macp@sva.edu or to SVA Disability Resources disabilityresources@sva.edu at least 7 business days prior to the event.

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Join us Saturday, December 7th at the 136 W 21 Street building to learn all about the SVA Graduate Programs! This information session and open house will provide prospective students with valuable insights into the diverse array of graduate programs that the School of Visual Arts offers. During this event, attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the various programs, meet the department chairs, and receive program brochures and materials. Several programs will also provide tours of their state-of-the-art studios.

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The Artists Roundtable, an international forum for leading practitioners, is hosted by Kate Fowle, faculty member of the MA Curatorial programs at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Minerva Cuevas creates research-based projects that encompass installation, street interventions, muralism, and sculpture. Her work explores notions of civilization and progress, identifies resistance implicit in everyday life, and questions our political imaginary. Through her projects, she provides insights into economic and political organizational structures in the social sphere and facilitates channels of social communication. Cuevas founded Mejor Vida Corp. in 1998 and the International Understanding Foundation (IUF) in 2016, and has collaborated on projects providing telecommunications access to indigenous communities. Her work is held in collections such as the Tate Gallery; Centre Georges Pompidou; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Museum Ludwig; Museo Jumex; and Van Abbemuseum. She is based in Mexico City.

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The Artists Roundtable, an international forum for leading practitioners, is hosted by Kate Fowle, faculty member of the MA Curatorial programs at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Kambui Olujimi challenges established modes of thinking that function as inevitabilities. His practice spans sculpture, installation, photography, writing, video, and performance. By excavating the language and aesthetics of social, historical, and cultural conventions, he brings them out of the implicit, giving them gravity, weight, and shape, revealing their incongruities and illusory nature. Olujimi’s works have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, Museum of Modern Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Sharjah Biennial 15, 14th Dak’Art Biennale, and Kunstmuseum Basel. His work is held in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, Brooklyn Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among others. He is based in New York.

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The Artists Roundtable, an international forum for leading practitioners, is hosted by Kate Fowle, faculty member of the MA Curatorial programs at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Jesse Krimes is a multimedia artist whose work explores societal mechanisms of power and control, with a focus on criminal and racial justice. He is the founder and director of the Center for Art & Advocacy, the first national organization dedicated to supporting justice-impacted creatives. Krimes also led a successful class-action lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase for charging formerly incarcerated individuals predatory fees after their release from prison. This fall, Krimes has exhibitions opening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Jack Shainman Gallery. He won an Emmy Award for his documentary Art and Krimes by Krimes. His work is held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Kadist Foundation, Bunker Artspace, and the Agnes Gund Collection. He is based in Pennsylvania.

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Hear from the head of the MA Curatorial Practice program about every aspect of our program in the center of New York City. Our rigorous training in practice, history, and theory will prepare you for your professional work in the curatorial field. Attendees will receive an $80 application fee waiver if they apply for Summer 2025 or Fall 2025 admission. Note: This waiver will be applied to the email address used to register for this event. It is important to use the same email address consistently throughout the entire application process. Please note that we welcome individual meetings on Zoom or in-person to discuss the application and the program.

SVA wants to ensure persons with disabilities have access to this event. If you are a person with a disability who requires accommodations to access or participate in this event, please reach out to the MA Curatorial Practice department at macp@sva.edu or to SVA Disability Resources disabilityresources@sva.edu at least 7 business days prior to the event.

Register here. If you have questions regarding this event please email us at macp@sva.edu.

The Artists Roundtable, an international forum for leading practitioners, is hosted by Kate Fowle, faculty member of the MA Curatorial programs at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Suchitra Mattai, a multidisciplinary American artist of Indo-Caribbean descent, creates mixed-media paintings, sculptures, and installations that shed light on untold histories. She frequently incorporates processes and materials once associated with the domestic sphere, such as embroidery, sewing, weaving, and found clothing, to honor the labor of women. This fall, Mattai will open an exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC. Her works are in public and private collections, including the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; Denver Art Museum; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; Nasher Museum of Art; Tampa Museum of Art; Joslyn Art Museum; Crocker Art Museum; Portland Museum of Art; and University of Michigan Museum of Art. She is based in Los Angeles.

Register here.

The Artists Roundtable, an international forum for leading practitioners, is hosted by Kate Fowle, faculty member of the MA Curatorial programs at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Angel Otero’s practice spans painting, collage, and sculpture, through which he experiments with innovative techniques to create abstract works centered on memory, identity, and lived experiences. He is best known for his Oil Skin works, where oil paint is applied to glass and peeled off to create layers that are reassembled into new images. Probing the boundaries of figuration and abstraction, Otero’s recent works serve as psychological anchors for his explorations into the ambiguous and magical. His works are included in the collections of the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY; DePaul Art Museum, Chicago; Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO; Margulies Collection, Miami, FL; Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY; Istanbul Modern; and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. He divides his time between New York and Puerto Rico.

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As we navigate a world marked by humanitarian and climate crises, societal divides, and economic uncertainties, the role of art institutions is more critical than ever. Yet to truly matter, museums and galleries have to evolve beyond their traditional practices, embracing more inclusive, adaptive approaches to engage audiences as creative participants in addressing the urgent issues of our times. This panel brings together distinguished cultural innovators to explore how these spaces can transform into dynamic hubs where diverse and unexpected communities converge and meaningful exchanges unfold. Join us for a bold conversation about reimagining art institutions as vital forces for change in our rapidly transforming society.

Tom Finkelpearl, previously Commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and Executive Director of the Queens Museum, is currently a consultant for the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Kate Fowle, former director of MoMA PS1 and Chief Curator of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, is currently Curatorial Senior Director at Hauser & Wirth, New York. Chrissie Iles is the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, specializing in contemporary art, film, and video. She recently co-curated the Whitney Biennial. Christina Yang is an independent curator who has held curatorial roles at the Berkeley Art Museum + Pacific Film Archive, Williams College Museum of Art, The Kitchen, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Queens Museum. Kate, Chrissie, and Christina are all faculty member of MA Curatorial Practice. Işın Önol is Director of Curatorial Research in the MA Curatorial Practice program.

Register here.

The Artists Roundtable, an international forum for leading practitioners, is hosted by Kate Fowle, faculty member of the MA Curatorial programs at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

An artist, director, writer, and organizer, Edgar Arceneaux constructs drawings, installations, video, and film works as complex arrangements of association that examine adjacencies and points of contact between implausible relations. He directed his first play in 2015, for which he was awarded the Malcolm McLaren, Best of Show Award. His latest play premiered in the US in 2023. His work is in museum collections at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Museum Ludwig, the Hammer Museum, and Los Angeles Country Museum of Art, among others. Recognized as a national leader in the arts, Arceneaux also serves on the board of Creative Capital. He is based in Los Angeles.

Register here.

Hear from the head of the MA Curatorial Practice program about every aspect of our program in the center of New York City. Our rigorous training in practice, history, and theory will prepare you for your professional work in the curatorial field. Attendees will receive an $80 application fee waiver if they apply for Summer 2025 or Fall 2025 admission. Note: This waiver will be applied to the email address used to register for this event. It is important to use the same email address consistently throughout the entire application process. Please note that we welcome individual meetings on Zoom or in-person to discuss the application and the program.

SVA wants to ensure persons with disabilities have access to this event. If you are a person with a disability who requires accommodations to access or participate in this event, please reach out to the MA Curatorial Practice department at macp@sva.edu or to SVA Disability Resources disabilityresources@sva.edu at least 7 business days prior to the event.

Register here. If you have questions regarding this event please email us at macp@sva.edu.

The Curatorial Roundtable, an international forum for curators and institutional leaders to discuss formative and current projects, is hosted by Steven Henry Madoff, Founding Chair of the MA Curatorial Practice at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Hou Hanru is a prolific art critic, writer, and curator based in Paris and Rome. He was the Artistic Director of MAXXI (National Museum for 21st Century Arts), Rome (2013-2022). He has curated over 150 exhibitions across the world, including biennales and triennials in Johannesburg, Venice, Shanghai, Gwangju, Guangzhou, Tirana, Istanbul, Lyon, Auckland, etc. From 1997 to 1999, he co-curated “Cities On The Move” with Hans Ulrich Obrist, which toured from Secession, Vienna to CAPC/Arc-en-rêve, Bordeaux; MoMA PS1, New York; Louisiana Museum, Humlebaek; Hayward Gallery, London; Bangkok city; and Kiasma, Helskinki. He is an advisor to numerous cultural institutions, including the Times Museum, Guangzhou; Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai; and The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. He frequently contributes to journals on contemporary art and culture, and he lectures and teaches in numerous international institutions. His books include Hou Hanru (Utopia@Asialink, and School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne, 2014), On Mid-Ground (English version published in 2002, by Timezone 8, Hong Kong, and Chinese version published in 2013, by Gold Wall Press, Beijing), Curatorial Challenges (conversations between Hou Hanru and Hans-Ulrich Obrist, in Art-It magazine as “curators on the move,” Japan, 2006-2012, Chinese version, Gold Wall Press, Beijing, 2013).

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The Curatorial Roundtable, an international forum for curators and institutional leaders to discuss formative and current projects, is hosted by Steven Henry Madoff, Founding Chair of the MA Curatorial Practice at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

For this session of the Curatorial Roundtable, Nam will talk about what she calls “curating for places and spaces,” discussing her work at Harvard University’s Carpenter Center, Ballroom Marfa, and the Wattis. She’ll discuss the ways she’s worked with artists she has exhibited in terms of physical space, historical context, and audience.

Daisy Nam is the director and curator of CCA Wattis Institute of Contemporary Art in San Francisco. From 2020 to 2022, she served as director and curator of Ballroom Marfa, a contemporary art space dedicated to supporting artists through residencies, commissions, and exhibitions. From 2015 to 2019, she was the assistant director at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University. From 2008–2015, she produced seven seasons of talks, screenings, performances, and workshops as the assistant director of public programs at the School of the Arts, Columbia University. Nam’s curatorial residencies and fellowships include: Marcia Tucker Senior Research Fellow at the New Museum, New York (2020); Bellas Artes, Bataan, Philippines (2020); Surf Point in York, Maine (2019); Gwangju Biennale Foundation, Korea (2018). She has taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and lectured at Lesley University, Northeastern, SMFA/Tufts, and SVA as a visiting critic. She co-edited the publication Best! Letters from Asian Americans in the arts with Paper Monument in 2021.

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The Curatorial Roundtable, an international forum for curators and institutional leaders to discuss formative and current projects, is hosted by Steven Henry Madoff, Founding Chair of the MA Curatorial Practice at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Katerina Gregos is an art historian, curator, and educator. Since 2021 she has been the artistic director of EMΣT | The National Museum of Contemporary Art, in Athens. For over 20 years, her curatorial practice has explored the relationship between art, society, and politics, with a particular focus on questions of democracy, human rights, economy, ecology, crisis, and changing global production circuits. Gregos has curated numerous large-scale international exhibitions and biennials including, among others, the 1st Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art (LV, 2018); the 5th Thessaloniki Biennial (GR, 2015); the Göteborg International Biennial (SE, 2013), Manifesta 9 (BE, 2012); and the Fotofestival Manheim Ludwigshafen Heidelberg (DE, 2011). She has also curated three critically acclaimed national pavilions at the Venice Biennale: Croatia (2019), Belgium (2015), and Denmark (2011). In addition, Gregos has curated exhibitions for the Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid; Akademie der Kunst, Berlin; BOZAR, Brussels; the Central Museum, Utrecht; Museum für Neue Kunst, Freiburg; the Kunsthalle Tallinn; and La Kunsthalle Mulhouse, among many others. Her texts have been published by Yale University Press, Duke University Press, Hatje Cantz, J R Ringier, Phaidon, Mousse, and Distanz, among others. Since 2016, she has also served as curator of the Visual Arts program of the Munich-based non-profit Schwarz Foundation. Her program for ΕΜΣΤ this year focuses on a series of exhibitions under the umbrella title Why Look at Animals?, inspired by John Berger’s seminal text on the human–animal relationship.

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The Curatorial Roundtable, an international forum for curators and institutional leaders to discuss formative and current projects, is hosted by Steven Henry Madoff, Founding Chair of the MA Curatorial Practice at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Axel Wieder is the new director of the Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art. Previously, he was the director of Bergen Kunsthall, where he oversaw a widely acclaimed, interdisciplinary program with an international purview and local roots that encompassed exhibitions, live projects, and a broad event and outreach program. In his work, Wieder focuses on the history and theory of exhibitions, architecture, and social space, as well as on questions of political representation. His work seeks to expand art institutions to become open spaces in which art can be shown in connection with adjacent areas of society and with attention to different practices and discourses. Under his leadership, the program of Bergen Kunsthall succeeded in attracting new audiences through collaborations and an ambitious program. From 2014 to 2018, Wieder was the director of Index – The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation in Stockholm and before that, from 2012 to 2014, served as the head of program at Arnolfini in Bristol, UK. He was responsible for the program of Ludlow 38 – Goethe Institute in New York from 2010 to 2011 after being responsible as artistic director of Künstlerhaus Stuttgart from 2007 to 2010. In 1999, he founded Pro qm, a bookshop and discourse platform, together with Katja Reichard and Jesko Fezer in Berlin.

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