Histories Collide: Jackie Mild x Fred Wilson x Nekisha Durrett
How can Curators in an Institutional setting draw meaningful connections between a historic work and contemporary regional practices? How could we create a commissioning process that placed care for the artists at the forefront while attempting to lift the veil on how Museum scale exhibitions come to fruition? How can we create a process that supports artist’s growth and learning, for those selected for commission, as well as those who were not selected?
Following a long term loan of Fred Wilson’s 1992 work Artemis/Bast, Cecilia Wichmann and Eassa, alongside Wilson and consulting advisor George Ciscle, designed an Open Call process for regional artists to create new works in dialogue with Artemis/Bast and the provocation: “What images and thoughts emerge when myths and histories collide?” At the center of this process, led by Eassa’s intimate knowledge of artist proposal applications, was the desire to streamline the application process, publicly demystify Museum exhibition processes in a way that supported learning for artists, and recognize the labor it requires for artists to dream.
A jury of distinguished cultural workers, including Angela N. Carroll, Teri Henderson, Ashley Minner, and Ginevra Shay, consulting with George Ciscle as the jury’s advisor, selected proposals by Durrett and Milad for commission. Histories Collide: Jackie Milad x Fred Wilson x Nekisha Durrett is on view at the Baltimore Museum of Art April 26th 2023 - March 17th, 2024.
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All images Mitro Hood courtesy of the Baltimore Museum of Art.
