COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Beginning in 2019, I worked as a lead for the Memorial Art Gallery's public programming and engagement efforts. In Fiscal Year 2022, I organized and managed 38 in-person programs that welcomed more than 3,500 people to the museum for events, such as exhibition-related activities, tours, children's seasonal events, and artist conversations. I also worked as project manager and lead planner for a number of the museum's Celebration Days, which are free and include museum admission and offer Rochester area families and community members the opportunity to learn more about specific cultures, communities, and events through performances, presentations, art & crafts, and more. The museum welcomed more than 2,000 people between five Celebration Days. In October 2022, the museum broke pre-pandemic records for its 21st annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration Day, with more than 1,500 attendees for this one-day event.
Asian Pacific American Heritage Celebration Day
Memorial Art Gallery 2022
Coordinating with the Community Guest Programmer, the museum hosted more than 1,000 community members for the first Asian Pacific American Heritage Celebration Day since 2019. The event's graphic identity was designed by a creative based in India. Day of, the celebration featured community display tables, workshops and performances, arts & crafts, and a grand finale showcasing Chinese dance, Indian dance, Filipino dance, Muslim dance, Bollywood, Bhangra, and more.
Project A.I.R.
Memorial Art Gallery 2020
The Memorial Art Gallery closed its doors March-July 2020 due to COVID-19. Amidst this global pandemic, the nation took to the streets to protest police brutality and racism. As protests filled the streets of Rochester to demand action when members of the Rochester Police Department murdered Daniel Prude, I wanted the community to feel and know that its art museum, being a safe place for all, stood with them. I worked with Project A.I.R., a local group that created protest art "to advocate for social equity of marginalized groups with a focus on Black and Brown bodies." The museum and Project A.I.R. invited local artists to decorate two banners that hung on the front and side fences of the museum for more than one year.
Shawn Dunwoody, Unfinished Business Tours
Memorial Art Gallery 2021
Community arts organizer Shawn Dunwoody gave three sold-out back-to-back tours of his new mural on view at the Memorial Art Gallery, Unfinished Business. The mural is composed of photos of the civil rights unrest and protests in Rochester in 1964 and again in 2020. The nature of Dunwoody’s large-scale work — a dynamic and intense drawing on canvas — suggests an incomplete painting. During the tours, Dunwoody pulled a marker out of his pocket and drew on some of the blank spaces in the mural.
Museum of the Dead
Memorial Art Gallery 2019 & 2021
Museum of the Dead is the Memorial Art Gallery's annual Halloween event and the highest revenue-generating public program. The event features a DJ, dancing, food & drinks, fortune tellers, a costume contest, movie, art memes, live music played on the only full-size antique Italian organ in North America, and presentations by Monroe County Paranormal Activity Investigators. Each year, the event welcomes nearly 1,000 attendees.
