Trip to Mass MoCA

Took a fun 3 hour trip to Mass MoCA to have a conversation with Curator and Co-founder of ARTNOIR, Larry Ossei-Mensah. This was a great opportunity to get the perspective of a prevalent curator within the art space. I was also able to link up with Miami artists on residency at Mass MoCA through Oolite Arts’ Home + Away Travel Residency program.

CURATOR CONVERSATION: HOW TO MAKE IT IN THE ART WORLD

The conversation with Larry was much more intimate than I expected, and really allowed for him to listen and speak with the audience. After realizing that the audience was mostly made up of visiting Oolite’s artists in residency I felt more relaxed and my expectations returned back to reality.

From his introduction to identifying your “why?” the conversation was fluid and fostered moments of growth verses a lecture of pedigree. One of my favorite moments was when Larry started picking out members in the crowd to tell us about their art.

“What’s your why?"

Mind you, my heart was skipping beats because of course when it’s time to discuss what and why I do what I do I find my mind in La La Land. However, while gathering the remnants of ideas, the artists surrounding me had such unique intent and purpose for what they do. It may not have been buttoned up, but it didn’t matter. It was true to who they were.

It’s safe to say, I love artists.

After the talk, I had to introduce myself and let Larry know his cardigan was dope and that I really appreciated him sharing his perspective. I told him about our 3 hour journey and he appreciated the gesture and time taken to come listen to his presentation. He then dropped a gem about attending Simone Leigh’s opening reception at the ICA the following Tuesday (4/4). Hear more about that in the next blog.

P.S. I connected with this incredibly talented artist, Friday! Her work focuses on portraying black bodies at rest. Her attention to detail and the sheer size of her work is breathtaking. check out her instagram account here.