Organizers said the shows were put together partially because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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I think the show, in general, wants to show how women are using various forms of texts in conjunction with art to say different things to different audiences.” “If you have the gift of sight and can read, then that adds to it. “As someone who’s technically introverted, I’m not going to be the one giving a lot of speeches, but my work can do that for me,” she said. The word “will” stands tall behind his head, while “not be assimilated” runs across his chest, just as pronounced.īey focuses on Black women and queer men in her work, as well as transgender individuals, and the “Amplify” show was a perfect fit, she said. In one piece, a man wearing a feather earring tilts his head to the side and stares forward, his chin lifted a bit. And usually, the opposing party will say ‘I will not comply.’”Ĭomparing attempted assimilation to colonialism comes up a lot in Bey’s work. “Right before they’re about to take over your planet and bring you into the fold, they say that you will be assimilated. “This opportunity at Virginia MOCA combines two things that I’m interested in supporting creative thinking and self-expression and making sure that artists have vibrant places to display their art and for the public to experience it.“They go around the galaxy, assimilating other species that they consider to be less than,” she said. “A museum outside of a cultural center, even just 40 miles outside, can play a really important role in bringing art to the suburbs and fostering those connections and conversations that are inherent in experiencing art,” Ryan said. She added that Virginia MOCA is similar to the Katonah Museum, in that both are non-collecting institutions. Having spent the past 20 years in the New York area, she has witnessed Virginia MOCA grow into “a remarkable regional institution that has dedicated itself to bringing art of the highest quality to the broader area of Hampton Roads.” Ryan grew up in the neighboring town of Norfolk, where the area’s creative community “engendered in me a lifelong love of culture and the arts,” she said.
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She has a vision that is thoughtful in the sense that she’s not just thinking about today or tomorrow but years out.” She has a great wealth of experience not just in the museum world. Gary was the frontrunner from the beginning. “We were looking for the next executive director to continue the work Debi had started. “The museum has seen a great evolution over the last five years,” Virginia MOCA board chair Andrew Hodge told ARTnews. The museum has slowly gained a national reputation for staging well-regarded exhibitions, including solo outings by Inka Essenhigh in 2018 and Mickalene Thomas in 2017, and the 2017 group exhibitions “ Mindful: Exploring Mental Health Through Art,” and “ Southern Routes,” which featured work by photographers from throughout the American South. Under Gray’s tenure, Virginia MOCA received accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums in 2010 and rebranded its identity the following year.
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Between 19, Ryan held various positions at Time, Inc. Prior to joining the Katonah Museum, she founded Palermo Strategy, a fundraising consulting firm, and worked in development positions at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.