Non-profit arts leader and Curator with 16+ years of experience and increasing responsibilities shaping exhibitions, public programming, and institutional narratives at major Texas and national institutions. Committed to centering African American cultural and diasporic histories. Criticism, catalog essays, and interviews as writer and critic with national and international publications. Award-winning, post-medium artist whose community-embedded studio practice and skills deepens and shapes institutional leadership and curatorial visions.
Professional Experience
2024 –
Present
Director of Public Programs
National Juneteenth Museum, Fort Worth, TX
- Leads public programming strategy for a landmark institution in development, dedicated to the history and legacy of Juneteenth, connecting community, scholarship, and living cultural experiences through exhibitions, artist conversations, and a growing national Juneteenth festival.
- Develops and administers public engagement programs that translate curatorial and collections content into accessible cultural experiences.
- Positions the museum as a hub for ongoing national conversations around Black freedom, civic history, and cultural heritage.
2021 –
2024
Chief Curator
Houston Museum of African American Culture, Houston, TX
- Organized and oversaw more than 20 solo and group exhibitions over three years, presenting mid-career and survey shows for artists including Evita Tezeno, El Franco Lee II, Johnny Floyd, Bert Long Jr., and David-Jeremiah.
- Directed the museum's thematic programming to include Afrofuturism, documentary photography, sculpture, and painting — expanding its curatorial scope while deepening its ties to Houston's African American artistic community. Developed and implemented the Bert Long Jr., Prize, a $3,000 cash award to Houston-based African American artists.
- Co-curated African Cosmologies: Redux in collaboration with Fotofest, building cross-institutional partnerships that amplified reach and critical visibility in texas and beyond.
- Curated Negative Women: Four Photographers Questioning Boundaries, advancing the museum's commitment to women artists.
- Contributed curatorial writing, public dialogue, and programming that enhanced the museum's reputation as a leading site for contemporary African American art discourse in the South.
2019 –
2021
News Editor
Glasstire Magazine, Houston, TX
- Shaped editorial coverage of the Texas contemporary art scene for one of the region's most widely read art publications, with a focus on emerging and underrepresented artists. Edited and published multiple Op Ed and criticisms of regional and national exhibitions.
- Built relationships across the Houston art ecosystem that informed subsequent curatorial work at HMAAC.
2009 –
2019
Curator, Art Corridor Galleries
Tarrant County College Southeast, Arlington, TX
- Managed and curated a decade-long series of exhibitions for an academic institution’s gallery, whose focus included retrospective shows, solo and group exhibitions, and works from national artists.
- Highlights of exhibitions include Peter Helms Feresten: My Mind Wanders to the South Side of Town, 2012,K. Yoland: Land Border Other, 2015,Vick Meek: Blues Talk: It Ain’t no Cliche Chit- Chat, 2015, and a series of exhibitions highlighting Fort Worth art collectives from 1990 - 2015.
- Curated solo projects including The YPs: New Photography in Fort Worth (2018), Black Borders: Artists of Color, Reframing Culturere at Fort Worth Contemporary Arts — an early articulation of the thematic curatorial voice that would define subsequent institutional work.
- Established community curatorial partnerships including an independent project with artist Lillian Young (2019).
Public Art Projects
-
2025
East Rosedale Monument Project — Fort Worth, TX. Site-specific public commission addressing civic memory and community identity.
-
2025
New Harmony Public Art Project — New Harmony, IN. Commissioned through New Harmony Gallery; April – August installation. [$16,000 Public Art award]
-
2023
Featured Artist Project, ArtPrize — Grand Rapids, MI. Large-scale sculptural installation; received Featured Project Award ($20,000) and Runner Up Sculpture Award ($5,000) from international juried competition.
-
2017
Dindi, For Annibel — Coombs Creek Park, Dallas, TX. Permanent site-integrated memorial work.
-
2014–17
The Ark on Noah St. / Dear House — 10th St. Historic District, Dallas, TX. Multi-year public art engagement in a designated historic neighborhood.
-
2016
Modern Billings — Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Commissioned public project.
Selected Awards & Grants
Public Art Project Award
New Harmony Gallery, Indiana
2025 · $16,000
Featured Public Project Award
ArtPrize, Grand Rapids, MI
2023 · $20,000
The ION Artist Residency Award
Houston, TX
2023 · $20,000
Runner Up Award, Sculpture
ArtPrize, Grand Rapids, MI
2023 · $5,000
Jones Artist Award
Houston Endowment
2024 · $5,000
Artist Seed Grant
ArtPrize, Grand Rapids, MI
2023 · $2,000
Carter Community Artist
Fort Worth, TX
2018 · $7,000
Otis & Velma Davis Dozier Travel Grant
Dallas Museum of Art
2018 · $2,000
Nasher Sculpture Center Grant
Dallas, TX
2015 · $1,000
Moss Chumley Award
Dallas, TX
2013 · $2,000
Artist Residencies
-
2023
Artist in Residence — The ION, Houston, TX (culminated in solo exhibition The SpLaVCe Program)
-
2019
Carter Community Artist — Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, TX
-
2017
Critic-in-Residence — Fort Worth Contemporary Arts, TCU, Fort Worth, TX
-
2017
Visiting Artist — Dallas Museum of Art, April – June
Jury, Panel & Invited Speaker Appointments (selected, 2021–2025)
-
2025
Juror — Martin Museum of Art, Baylor University, Waco, TX
-
2024
Juror — Sam Houston State University Student Art Exhibition
-
2023
In Conversation with William Kentridge — Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
-
2023
Juror — Nest Heritage Craft Prize, Dallas, TX
-
2023
Juror — International Center for Photography, New York, NY
-
2023
Juror — Shreveport Regional Art Council's Critical Mass 11, Shreveport, LA
-
2022
In Conversation with Mark Sealy of Autograph, London — Fotofest
-
2022
Panel Discussion: Witnessing Worlds in Transition — Menil Collection, Houston
-
2022
Juror — Voertman Competition, University of North Texas, Denton
-
2022
Panel Moderator — Noor Images: Agency and Authorship: Approaches to Visual Storytelling
-
2021
Panel Moderator, Meet the Muralists — Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
-
2021
Juror — Society of Photographic Education; Tito's Prize, Austin; CADD + Maddrey Prize, Dallas
Selected Curated Exhibitions
-
2025
David-Jeremiah: The Fire This Time — Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
-
2024
CAM Perennial — Contemporary Arts Museum, San Antonio, TX
-
2024
Phillip Pyle, II: So Far So Good — HMAAC, Houston
-
2024
Shavon Aja Morris: The Talking Back of Ms. Valentine Jones — HMAAC
-
2024
Bert Long, Jr. Spring Survey Exhibition — HMAAC
-
2024
Mami Wata Afrofuturism: 500 Years Back to the [A]Fro[F]uture — HMAAC
-
2023
Johnny Floyd: GODBODY — HMAAC
-
2023
El Franco Lee II: Mid-Career Survey — HMAAC
-
2023
Evita Tezeno: Out of Many — HMAAC
-
2023
Ellsworth Ausby: Odyssey — HMAAC
-
2022
African Cosmologies: Redux (co-curated with Fotofest) — HMAAC
-
2022
Negative Women: Four Photographers Questioning Boundaries — HMAAC
-
2022
David-Jeremiah: Early Career Survey — HMAAC
Selected Exhibitions as Artist * solo
2025
* SOLO Elemental Currents: Material, Memory, and Myth
Ballroom, Marfa, TX
2025
Look Both Ways: 50 Years at the New Harmony Gallery
New Harmony, Indiana
2025
Sleight of Hand
Barry Whistler Gallery, Dallas, TX
2024
* SOLO Ritual SpLaVCe
Galveston Arts Center, Galveston, TX
2023
* SOLO The SpLaVCe Program
ION Building, Houston, TX
2023
The SpLaVCe Program
Marfa, TX
2022
* SOLO Paintings, Prints, and Collages, 2011–2022
The Carillon Gallery, Fort Worth, TX
2022
* SOLO SpLaVCe Ship
Barry Whistler Gallery, Dallas, TX
2022
* SOLO Future Power: Traps and Targets
Hotel St. George, Marfa, TX
2022
Learning to Draw
Barry Whistler Gallery, Dallas, TX
2021
* SOLO Power, Traps, and Targets
Big Medium, Austin, TX
2021
Amarillo Biennial
Amarillo Museum of Art
Selected Writing & Critical Publications
-
2026
Rauschenberg Study Day Digital Publication — Contribution · Nasher Sculpture Center
-
2025
David-Jeremiah: The Fire This Time — Catalog Essay · Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
-
2024
"David-Jeremiah: Black Masculinity and Lamborghinis" — Feature Essay · Art in America
-
2023
Framing Oak Cliff: A Visual Diary from a Dallas Neighborhood — Catalog Essay · Texas A&M University Press
-
2023
"Art Influencers" — Essay · Patron Magazine, June/July Issue
-
2022
Richard Prince: Selections from The Karpidas Collection — Catalog Essay
-
2022
Letitia Huckaby: Bitter Waters Sweet — Catalog Essay · Artist Monograph
-
2022
"Julie Speed" — Feature Essay · Art in America
-
2022
"Sound As Suture" — Essay · Nasher Magazine, Nasher Sculpture Center
-
2021
"Jammie Holmes" — Cover Story Interview · Art in America
Education
2003
B.F.A., Studio Art — Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX
1998
A.A., Fine Art — Tarrant County College, Hurst, TX