Upward And Onward

Often times in my curatorial practice, I’m regularly reminded that I’m a product of my own environment. Generally, the work I respond and listen to centers on questions of culture and identity, but also conceptual and visual activism. More than often, I engage the work of these artists to reimagine, ignite and shifts conversations merely because it represents the people who’ve grown up in cities and communities similar to my own who seek out authentic modes of representation, not the ones under the guise of appropriation.

In the coming months I’ll be transitioning and becoming a full time working professional. Simply put, it means no more doing intern programs to supplement actually working full-time. As I make the next move I want to plant myself in an institution where I’ll be able to grow and fine-tune my skillset working with a curatorial team developing exhibitions and public programs.

But also, I know wherever I go next needs to be somewhat of a training grounds for curators and educators who’ve gone on to redefine how museums and cultural institutions operate. I consider myself to be someone whose dedication and determination will one day redevelop the framework for visual and curatorial studies, and New York is where I want to continue learning, despite MTA.

Art has managed to take me around the world and into doors I didn’t know existed. Undeniably, I want to do the same for others and help them interpret their understanding of world we live in through the lens of folk who make work that responds to movements and moments in history because art ain’t never hurt nobody.

Over the years, through trial and error, I’ve learned that everything we do will have a million effects to follow or none at all. Ironically, when I picked up that pencil in second grade to sketch non-proportional portraits of my friends that I’d be the man I am today – smart, strong, wise, and sometimes a procrastinator. That man, however, is the product of women who managed to walk a Black boy into art and manhood at the same time.

And although my interest in art has taken me to a number of institutions, small and large, I am now more than ever excited by the possibility of growing. I anticipate on pursuing a PhD in Art History, and I know that this next move will build upon my interest in curating art as a mode of organizing that asks critical questions about communities and subcultures through photography.