Museums and Archives

Co-curator, Winter 2013, Meridian International Center (Washington, DC)

Meditating on the dreams of the poet Magtymguly (1724-1782), who wrote of a unified Turkmen nation, this exhibition demonstrated the connections between the fine arts, traditional crafts, and musical practices found in Turkmenistan. Audiences experienced how traditional narrative and musical practices, motifs of fiber crafts, and silver-smithing connected to the practice of nationalist art production in the Soviet and Post-Soviet eras of the Turkmen nation-state.

Photographs can be accessed here.

Guest Curator, Fall 2022, The Bascom: A Center for the Arts (Highlands, NC)

Featuring instruments of active makers, this exhibit explored the history of use, importance in defining regional culture, material construction, and evolution of design of musical instruments in Southern Appalachia. With a focus on communities in the mountain forests of Western North Carolina, SW Virginia, and West Virginia, the exhibit demonstrated how the craft is a place-making practice that fosters relationships between people, things, and environments through the pursuit of musical tone. Audiences learned about the craft’s global connections, traditions and history, environment stakes, and breadth of diversity.

Media Coverage:

“Tapping into Tone” Exhibit Underway at The Bascom

The Bascom Opens Exhibition of Instruments

Co-curator, Fall 2011, Meridian International Center (Washington, DC)

Accompanying the Turkmenistan Culture Days, a multi-event exhibition of Turkmen music, poetry, arts, and craft, this exhibit provided audiences with a brief introduction to Turkmenistan through it’s music and craft traditions. It highlighted the region’s emphasis on the fiber arts, particularly pile-woven carpets and gobelin tapestries, to tell the story of Turkmen history and place within the world.

Watch Turkmen media coverage of the event here.