Faculty
The MA in Curatorial Practices program's distinguished faculty are nationally and internationally renowned artists, fully involved in the exploration and re-examination of the field. They are well versed in contemporary theoretical debates, and are committed to building a diverse, exciting environment for the exchange of ideas and the production of culture.
Faculty Spotlight
Kate Dumbleton
Professor
My teaching philosophy is based on placing students at the crux of theory-practice. I try to create a learning environment in which students are continually and critically engaged with history, theory, and creative practice in the context of making things happen in real time. It is my hope that students in my classes are actively engaged in creating the future, not simply learning skills for the present. I want students to practice making change.
Mechtild Widrich
Professor
I work on the intersection of contemporary art and architecture: I research and teach on art in public space and the question of the public sphere (in particular contemporary monuments), on performance art and its mediation, and on aesthetic theory. I am interested in the power and means of representation, in the broader institutional and political context of artistic production, in spatial dynamics and site-specificity, and in issues of "authentic" and "bodily" experience under mediated conditions. Another interest is theory, in particular beauty and ugliness.
Pauline J. Yao
Professor
Pauline J. Yao (she/her) is an independent curator, writer, and educator based in Hong Kong and Chicago. From 2017 to 2024 she was Lead Curator, Visual Art, at M+, the new museum for twentieth and twenty-first century visual culture established in Hong Kong. Since joining the M+ curatorial team in 2012, Yao played an integral role in building the museum’s collection of visual art and acquiring works of art from East Asia, Southeast Asia and internationally. She curated the inaugural display of the visual art collection exhibition Individuals, Networks, Expressions and Antony Gormley: Asian Field, both on view at the grand opening of M+ in 2021.
Romi Crawford
Professor
Romi Crawford, PhD, has a research practice that explores areas of race and ethnicity as they relate to American visual culture (including art, film, and photography). Her work often centers on, and expands the bounds of, Black Arts Movement ideas and aesthetics and positions pedagogical activities that embed in art practices. Recent curatorial projects include Citing Black Geographies (Richard Gray Gallery, 2022) and So Be It! Ase!: Photographic Echoes of Festac'77 (Richard Gray, 2023).