Getting Started

For my internship, I will be working with the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, splitting time between the curatorial and installation departments.

 SMoCA, as it is also known, is part of the Scottsdale Cultural Council, a nonprofit contracted by the City of Scottsdale to administer arts and cultural programs in the City. The Cultural Council manages two other departments along with SMoCA: Scottsdale Public Art and Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. The Museum has three seasons of exhibitions, and puts together two to three shows for each season. As the name implies, it exhibits exclusively contemporary art, from the 20th and 21st centuries. All media are represented, and exhibitions can massively range, even during the same season; our current season includes a mix of installation, printmaking, painting, and sound, and past seasons have included a commissioned modern classical piece of music.

 For my own personal work, on the curatorial side I am working on a variety of projects. Most importantly, I am compiling a database of museums and art institutes around the country to which we may send our most recent publication: a vinyl record also acting as an exhibition guide for “This Is a Present from A Small Distant World.” On the A-side is a performance of the piece commissioned specifically for the exhibition ("In Teaching Others We Teach Ourselves") by composer Judd Greenstein and performed by violist Nadia Sirota. The B-side then features an exclusive remix of the track by producer and songwriter Son Lux (aka Ryan Lott). According to those in the curatorial department, it is the first publication of its kind in the museum world.

On the side of installation, we are currently putting together three all-new exhibitions for the Fall season. Thus far, I have taken down the old show and shipped it, and painted the new rooms for the exhibitions. In the coming weeks, we are going to be continuing to place all the art. Most excitingly for me, we will be assembling a series of sound installations alongside the artist Julianne Swartz, entitled “How Deep Is Your.” 

Thus far, my work has been extremely fulfilling, and I can’t wait to see what’s next!