BmoreArt

Number of Exhibitions Curated to Date: 56 

First Exhibit Curated: An exhibition in the Baltimore Museum of Art Archive/Library. I did not do a great job. 

Current Exhibit/Project: Walk On By: the exchange began with an exhibit at Creative Alliance in Baltimore September 27-November 30, 2024 and has traveled to Rotterdam where it is currently exhibiting at TENT Rotterdam, March 29 – June 8, 2025. 

Curatorial Philosophy: My mission and values focus on listening and pivoting in contexts I enjoy and in the contexts the artists I work with create. 

Favorite Color: Purple.

Can you tell me a bit about how you first got into art? How did your time at Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) and University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) help shape your path?  

I got into art as a kid, my parents pushed me to explore making but especially consuming art via performance and music. Proximity to the city was invaluable to growing up in a white suburb. My parents instilled the value of Black art and art history into me as a kid and I am very grateful. 

CCBC was an incredible entrance into higher education, I met people from different backgrounds and, not to be redundant, it grounded me much better than what I saw in 4-year universities. I had a mentor that really pushed me to think deeply about ancient history and art history overall and I fell in love. 

While at UMBC, I lived in the CopyCat building and I am glad I lived off campus to have a broader perspective of experiencing life. I was one of the many students Dr. Harbowski would check in with between classes and meetings. So that felt good at the time, if not a little annoying for a 20-something. His legacy is in the history books.  

What sparked your interest in fashion history and museum studies? And how did your time at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) influence how you approach curatorial work? 

It started with my Dad, he was an antique buyer and lighting technician. A complicated man who was excited about old stuff. As I was leaving UMBC I knew I wanted to go to graduate school and always loved fashion. I really wanted to merge this into a passion, a subject of study but I had no idea where to start. In 2013, I was admitted to FIT’s Fashion and Museum Studies program where I got excited about how to write, conservation of fabric and textiles, and the debates around fashion as art. What really inspired me was discussing the gaps in what I was learning. Which pushed me to make a podcast with my best friends Dana and Jasmine. Rest in peace to a real one. 

Waller Gallery is named after your grandmother, Helen Waller—how did her influence shape the gallery’s mission and values?  

She was one of three matriarchs in my larger Philly family, she was a force in my life. She appreciated the little things which is such an important virtue. She loved me for who I was without compromise. She uplifted me and was not about the drama or BS. I hope I am giving a little bit of that to the artists I work with and mentor. 

You’ve talked about how mentorship and access are crucial in the art world. How do you make sure Waller Gallery stays an accessible space for artists and curators?  

I would say we have ebbed and flowed in how accessible we are. For five years we offered mentorship to artists for free in the past, but Waller will be working on a flexible paid model moving forward. We want to make sure our free time is geared towards students (artists and curators) and artists we work with. If you are a student, please contact us! We will be rolling out that offering in the summer of this year. 

How has your time at the Creative Alliance shaped the way you work with artists and build community?  

Creative Alliance comes with a built-in community through the resident artist program and memberships. We have artists working with us for our 30-year existence. That is incredible! My goals with stewarding the resident artist program are the consistency of the program and elevating the artists’ profiles to the highest heights we can. We are on our way to doing that and I am really blessed that the artists have trusted me so far. I am proud of the artists’ work in the program. There isn’t a secret sauce for building community. It is about connecting with people where they are, understanding when to speak up and step back, and cultivating as close to a safe space as possible. However, this is a very basic definition.

Running an independent gallery for seven years is no small feat. What have been some of the biggest challenges, and what keeps you going?  

The community aspect has been the biggest challenge. We haven’t shown up enough, at least to my personal standard. We don’t know enough of our neighbors, and we should be listening more. I am hoping in this year and the next we are prioritizing this more. What keeps me going is the smiles on the artists’ and visitors’ faces, the hard questions from students, seeing an artist grow their practice, the list is almost endless. Even the challenges keep me going!  

You’ve mentioned that Black curators often face barriers to gaining experience. What kinds of structural changes do you think need to happen to make the field more equitable?  

Paid internships and more visibility to the roles within a museum and gallery. Disassembling what a curator and archivist means is very important. Shout out to the following who are paving the way for democratic curatorial work: Deyanne Moses, Johnathan Michael Square, Autrianna Ward, Savannah Imani Wade, and all those that defy the stuffy, elitist, and harmful ways in which we are taught to curate.  

Your work crosses so many different areas—art history, curation, education, and community organizing. How do you juggle it all, and do you see them as interconnected?  

Well, to be clear, community organizing isn’t something I have done in over a decade so I can’t position myself as an organizer. I do know they are on the front lines of progress and should be revered. That said, all of those areas of focus are a part of me and my values, and I cannot decompartmentalize them in my personal curatorial practice. In my professional curatorial practice, I do compartmentalize them as it relates to the artist.

Some artists want you to learn through seeing, example: Melissa Foss and Bria Sterling, some artists would like you to experience through seeing, example: Hoesy Corona and kolpeace. This isn’t a value judgement but should be something to consider instead of thinking about curating art as one size fits all. 

Baltimore has such a unique and dynamic arts community—what is it about this city that makes it an ideal place for your work? How has Baltimore shaped your approach to curation and community-building?  

I came back from New York because Baltimore gave me everything and I wanted to give some of that back to the city that has loved on me since I was a child. I grew up in and outside the city and it shaped me. I don’t know if Baltimore specifically shaped what I do but it did shape my experiences. The artists within the city helped me build my values.  

With such strong roots in Baltimore, what led you to explore international collaboration in Rotterdam? What inspired you to bring Baltimore artists to a global stage, and what has that experience been like?  

Baltimore never gets positioned as the creative hub it is and has been for over 100 years. That is wild to me. It is my mission to continue to connect Baltimore to the world. It is a true blessing that I was able to do it with Walk On By and it will set the stage for more opportunities for folks like me and more artists. Walk On By is an exhibition and cultural exchange that took place in Baltimore in Fall 2024 and starts in Rotterdam, Netherlands in Spring 2025. Our goal is to make sure connections continue through the work of Baltimore-Rotterdam Sister Cities, the participating artists, stakeholders, and anyone interested. 

You’ve described your career path as nonlinear—how do you personally define success, and has that definition changed over time?  

Success, in my mind, is a myth. I am still processing what it means to me. I think we task ourselves with reaching success or perfection, but we forget to enjoy the journey and take care of ourselves. Did you reach your goals? Did you problem solve something? Did you learn something new about yourself in the process? If so, that is success to me. Success doesn’t usually translate to the big dream achieved. That is usually derived from a collection of success over time.