Over the course of my fellowship with AnkhLave Arts Alliance, I helped select six artists to participate in the organization’s first annual artist residency on Governors Island. This involved reviewing portfolios, interviewing candidates, and discussing decisions with AnkhLave’s founder and the lead curator. Each of the chosen artists had working studio space in AnkhLave’s house in Colonel’s Row. I assisted them with move-in, studio assignments, and equipment access.

From there, I co-curated AnkhLave’s inaugural Governors Island exhibition called “Claimed and Reclaimed.” It took place at the house in a public gallery space. I wrote the exhibition description, designed exhibition labels, coordinated press outreach, and took photo and video documentation. I also oversaw interviews of the artists for the culture publication Quail Bell Magazine. Additionally, I edited a video of the residency experience, led presentations and critiques, including a visit from the Human Impacts Institute, and co-curated a future exhibition for a community garden in Harlem. Last but not least, I oversaw a public screening of my film Her Garden at the house.

Interviewing artists, properly lighting artwork, and recording and editing video, are all skills that grew from my journalism and documentary studies. My editorial training informed my curatorial approach. Prior to this fellowship, I had limited experience in curating artwork for a physical space. Most of my art curation has been for publications and digital media. My studies inspired me to think critically about juxtaposition and visual storytelling in a physical space. My oral history studies in particular trained me to weigh all five senses for any given project. Communication is not just one or two-dimensional. Viewers interact with object-based work differently than they do with print or media-based work. The smell of a specific location, such as a historic house on Colonels Row, elicits unique connotations. Yet with our digital platform based society, we still have to consider social media for physical exhibitions. That includes the choice to resist it, though this was not the case for AnkhLave. We integrated social media into the curatorial process, where my journalism skills came in handy.

Governors Island is rustic, even rugged by New York City standards, and challenging to access. First, you must get to the ferry. After the ferry ride, you must walk to your location on the island. Spending hours outside, particularly in the heat of summer, can be quite draining. It forced me to think about climate change more literally than I had in a while. This spurred some climate anxiety, which I learned to manage while also meeting the needs of my fellowship over the course of the summer. Another challenge was navigating deadlines. Whenever possible, I tried to start on tasks early to give myself more time. Adapting to a new work environment can be difficult, and I am happy with my ability to learn different communication styles and navigate this new sector to achieve common goals.

I learned that, despite my successes, I prefer producing art and media over curating it. Due to this, I am more invested in filmmaking and digital media than ever before. If I am going to contextualize artwork, I would like to make a video or write an essay, compared to producing an exhibition. I think the main difference between my previous writing and video work is my new devotion to environmental justice. From a young age, I was interested in nature, but could often keep that focus separate from my art and media practice. With the escalation of climate change, I no longer see that as attractive, responsible, or even feasible. More clearly than ever, I see that climate change affects everyone. I prefer creating projects for a general audience versus a niche one and making that work as accessible as possible. In the future, I plan to make climate change more central to my work, both as a subject and in terms of using sustainable business practices.