At the center of everything I do there is a component of advocacy and storytelling. As an artist and cultural worker, this is part of the drive to push through the challenges of managing two museums and a studio. I am the executive director of the Charles Allis and Villa Terrace Art Museums and am also an artist in Var Studios.
In May of 2022 I joined the CAVT team as the director. The museums are two historic house museums that are a major part of the fabric of arts and culture in Milwaukee. When I accepted the role, it was clear how much opportunity for growth and innovation was sitting in the halls of these homes. The Charles Allis Art Museum has an exceptional collection of art, holding some of the most incredible treasurers on American soil. It is a thrill each day to care for and support the home, its collection and development.
The Villa Terrace is an open canvas, and quite honestly an artist's dream space. Its white walls and open spaces invite conversation and production. It stings just a little that I am not filling the halls with my own work, but the ability to work with artist makers and contribute to the arts economy in Milwaukee (and beyond) far outweighs the sting. Being a part of the larger cultural narrative, speaking with my fellow artists who work in the museums, supporting history and my community knits into my studio practice in very visible ways.
As an artist and cultural worker, I find boundaries and balance are the most difficult parts of managing the two. Creating spaces for my own voice in the studio and our community of voices in the museums is a task I take seriously and something that challenges me every day. In my studio practice, I have been examining mourning, mending and repair. In the wake of massive loss in my own family my work in the studio has changed drastically since 2021. I enjoy manipulating objects that trigger memory and reorienting them, breaking, mending and assembling pieces of ceramic or items that ring of a midwestern home. Recognized items from thrift shops tell stories and collaborate with the final artwork in a moment of zeitgeist and recall. The high strangeness of ending up in midwestern homes as a cultural worker is not lost on me. Being surrounded by the echoes of artists who are my contemporaries and those from history is fuel in the studio.
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The opportunity to serve and create is a privilege I do not take lightly. I am thankful for the space and place here in Milwaukee and invite our community into our homes. I believe you will find compelling stories, artwork and a strong sense of community.
Visit: Charles Allis and Villa Terrace Museums
Photo Credit: Erol Reyal
