SPEAKERS AND DETAILS FOR 2024 ART CURATORS CONFERENCE

January 29, 2024, New York, NY -- AAMC Foundation announced speakers for the 2024 Art Curators Conference, May 1 - 4, in San Francisco, with virtual access for those unable to travel. Now in its 23rd edition, the AAMC Foundation’s Art Curators Conference is the largest annual gathering of curators and the only Conference dedicated to an international dialogue amongst all nonprofit curators. Hundreds of curators worldwide are expected to attend to engage in cross-departmental and cross-institutional discussions that push the curatorial field forward and catalyze new ways of thinking, working, and collaborating. 

The energy and dialogue sparked during Art Curator Conferences in new locations for the organization have consistently resulted in stellar attendance and community-changing dialogues.  The AAMC Foundation knows its first major event in San Francisco, the 2024 Art Curators Conference, will see curators gathering to fuel new perspectives and start conversations ahead of any ‘trend.’ With the theme of Now/Next, the 2024 sessions focus on unmasking classicism and socio-economic disparities, equity in 'curating qualifications,' accountability and legitimacy in indigenous identity, collecting and promoting female-identifying artists, amplifying the disability arts community, giving visibility to historically excluded artists from the Americas, broadening curatorial models to reflect community perspectives, and the future of African art collections.

“With valued and respected voices in the community coming together to investigate such forward-thinking topics,” noted Judith Pineiro, Executive Director, AAMC & AAMC Foundation, “I know the conversations held will ignite the exhibiting and collecting realms and remain relevant for years, which is always what makes this Conference so important for curators to attend.”

Keynote speakers are Komal Shah, entrepreneur, tech leader, author, collector, philanthropist, and co-founder of the Shah Garg Foundation, she is a champion of amplifying the voices of women artists and artists of color; and Ginger Shulick Porcella, Independent Curator & Consultant who helps organizations and communities transform and heal, using the lens of contemporary art to spur critical dialogue around complex issues, with previous directorships at . Creative Growth Art Center (CA), Franconia Sculpture Park (MN), Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson (AZ), and the Institute for Contemporary Art San Diego (CA). The full program features over 30 speakers from 30 individual organizations/affiliations, with more to be announced.

The San Francisco edition is anticipated to exceed 2023 attendance numbers, which included over 350 curators representing ten countries.  The annual event gathers curators from small and large museums and those working in varying disciplines.  The organization also supports fellows in its significant initiatives (Propel Program, Professional Alliance for Curators of Color, and Engagement Program for International Curators) to ensure their access to attend.

The organization is also hosting special events and excursions throughout the program. Main host venues include the de Young museum (FAMSF) hosting the Welcome Party, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art hosting the Members’ Party, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts hosting Conference sessions. Additional special events are yet to be announced. To expand on our engagement with San Francisco and surrounding communities, Conference attendees can join excursions after the conclusion of two days of sessions and visit the Oakland Museum of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, and African American Museum and Library at Oakland in Berkeley and Oakland; San José Museum of Art, Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, ICA San José, and Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University in San José; and the Museum of the African Diaspora, Asian Art Museum, KADIST, Museum of Craft and Design and the de Young museum in San Francisco.  

Learn more about the event on our website: https://www.artcurators.org/page/Annual_Meeting. 

Corporate sponsorship and individual donations to support and gain access to this event are available to those seeking to support and champion the curatorial community.  Please contact development@artcurators.org for more information and click here to see available options.  

2024 Art Curators Conference Speakers
(more to come)

heather ahtone, Director of Curatorial Affairs, First Americans Museum; Board of Trustees, AAMC & AAMC Foundation

Kathleen Ash-Milby, Curator of Native American Art, Portland Art Museum

Lauren Tate Baeza, Fred and Rita Richman Curator of African Art, High Museum of Art

Natasha Becker, Curator, Arts of Africa, de Young museum

Marlise Brown, Assistant Curator of European and American Art, Allen Memorial Art Museum

Suhaly Bautista-Carolina, Director of Public Programs & Partnerships, American LGBTQ+ Museum

David Castillo, Founder & Director, David Castillo Gallery

Erin Dziedzic, Curator, Independent

Lori Fogarty, Director and CEO, Oakland Museum of California

Ben Garcia, Executive Director, American LGBTQ+ Museum

Miki Garcia, Director + Professor of Practice, Arizona State University Art Museum

Henone Girma, Associate Curator of Arts of Global Africa, The Newark Museum of Art

Candace Huey, Head Curator, Edge on the Square

Heather Hughes, Kathy and Ted Fernberger Associate Curator of Prints, Philadelphia Museum of Art

Michelle Jacques, Head of Exhibitions & Collections / Chief Curator, Remai Modern; President, Board of Trustees, AAMC & AAMC Foundation

Amy Kisch, Head of Art + Public Programs, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA)

Miranda Kyle, Arts & Culture Program Manager, Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.

Amy Lonetree, Professor of History, University of California, Santa Cruz

Isabella Lores-Chavez, Associate Curator, European Paintings, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Ginger Shulick Porcella, Independent Curator & Consultant

Valeria Piccoli Gabriel da Silva, Ken and Linda Cutler Chair of the Arts of the Americas Department and Curator of Latin American Art, Minneapolis Institute of Art

Judith Pineiro, Executive Director, AAMC & AAMC Foundation

Aay Preston-Myint, artist, publisher, curator and educator

Seema Rao, Principle, Brilliant Idea Studio

Susanne Roewer, Independent Sculptor and Curator

Iraida Rodríguez-Negrón, Curator, Museo de Arte de Ponce

Komal Shah

TK Smith, Assistant Curator, Arts of the African Diaspora, Barnes Foundation

Karuna Srikureja, Interpretive Specialist for Arts of Asia, Africa, and Oceania, Denver Art Museum

Anna Stothart, Co-founder, Davila-Villa & Stothart

Martin Strickland, Director of Curatorial Initiatives, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA)

Yao-Fen You, Acting Director, Asian Pacific American Center, Smithsonian

ABOUT AAMC FOUNDATION 

The AAMC Foundation supports, values, and advances the work of nonprofit art curators at all stages of their careers through leadership and connectivity. The organization’s work is grounded on diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and belonging (DEIAB) and seeks to recognize the full breadth of a person’s lived experience, self-identification (gender, ethnic, racial, and ability), and socio-economic background. We are a compelling leader and resource for those who care about the role of curators as agents of change, social impact, and multicultural understanding. Founded in 2001, the Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) today has over 1,500 members from over 500+ institutions in over 40 countries. 

CONTACT

Judith Pineiro, Executive Director, judith.pineiro@artcurators.org

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