Collaboration in Curation

In my second week with the Ritz, I had the opportunity to work with a specific artist in order to plan out and design his space in the upcoming gallery, called “10 Walls”, where each artist got one of ten walls in the gallery space. He was able to grab an extra alcove normally used as museum space, but with the former exhibition having been moved, there was availability.

I spent the day working with him to discover the themes and ideas present in his collection. It was incredibly engaging and fascinating to do so. We ultimately decided to split the collection into two sections: one dedicated to a series of still-life paintings and the other dedicated to more personal work.

The still life series was centered around the objects around or belonging to Black victims of extrajudicial police killings and were ultimately placed at eye-level in one row across the wall. After the artist mentioned that he wanted to include the audience, we were able to procure a pillar with a label asking visitors to leave the contents of their pockets if they felt like it: a reminder of how easily they themselves could vanish and join the row of the dead. This section was titled “Still Lives for Lives Made Still”.

The second section was placed inside the alcove. There, I worked with him to arrange an emotional narrative and name the space: “My Mind”, meant to be a physical representation of a young man’s internal psyche and the anxiety, isolation, and beauty found there.

Working on this particular section left me incredibly grateful to work in an African American gallery and museum. I was able to engage in incredibly personally and culturally resonant work on a deep level that I’m not sure I could have come across anywhere else. It meant the world for me to help the artist’s vision bloom in the space. 

Kaysyn Jones