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Art and Art History Public Lecture
In this lecture, gallery directors Jessica Borusky of University of North Florida and Rachel Schmid of California Lutheran University discuss curatorial activism in today’s world, from academic galleries to public institutions to artist-run spaces. Dialogue will address such questions as, what does it mean to create polyvocal exhibitions, and why is this type of diversity important? What does curatorial activism look like, particularly through the lens of non-profit organizations and education? What problems related to gender and race are faced in the museum space, and what are the lasting effects of these issues? Two short presentations will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Mary R. Springer.
Jessica Borusky is a cultural organizer, artist, and educator. They received their MFA in Studio Art from Tufts University and School of the Museum of Fine Arts, with a concentration in Gender Studies through the MIT Women’s and Gender Studies Consortium in 2013. Their curatorial practice highlights static and expansive media through curatorial activism and inclusive, educational programming. Their art practice considers relationships between turn-of-the-century American Exceptionalism, contemporary individualism, and sexual-queer trauma through humorous performance, video, and installation research projects. Jessica served as the curator for the Art in the Loop Foundation Kansas City, independently curated for the Charlotte Street Foundation, and served as the Executive and Artistic Director for Living Arts of Tulsa. They have taught at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City Art Institute, University of Missouri Kansas City, and the University of Tulsa. Jessica has shown work at Anthony Greaney Gallery, UT Austin, Chicago Cultural Center, Feminist Media Studio Quebec, College Art Association, Boston University, UMass Boston, and Montserrat College of Art; performed in international festivals in the US, Canada, the UK, Sweden, and India; and writes for Number Inc. Magazine.
Jessica’s new faculty position as Gallery Director and Instructor for the University of North Florida will bridge contemporary issues in art within interdisciplinary, educational frameworks. They look forward to working with the campus and local community, national and international cultural producers, and creating connections between arts and social justice. Jessica will curate for the UNF Gallery of Art, the Lufrano Intercultural Gallery at UNF, and the UNF Gallery at MOCA Jacksonville.
Rachel Schmid is the Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at California Lutheran University, where she manages the William Rolland Gallery of Fine Art and the Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture. She received her B.A. from UCLA and M.A. from the University of Notre Dame, both in Art History. She is in the Cultural Studies doctoral program with an emphasis in Museum Studies at Claremont Graduate University. In addition to curating and administrating exhibitions, Rachel manages the university’s permanent collection and teaches a course on Arts Management and Museology. Her most well-received exhibit featured the conceptual use of clothing to convey rifts in societal mores relating to religion, gender, and race, called Material Culture. She recently published a selection of catalog entries on 18th-century German ceramics in “A Taste for Porcelain: The Virginia A. Marten Collection of Decorative Arts,” for the Snite Museum of Art in Indiana. Her areas of interest are the intersection of art and social justice, racism in the museum space, iconoclasms, museology, and late-antique synagogue mosaics.
Questions:
For more information or questions, please contact Dr. Mary R. Springer at mspringer@jsu.edu.
