Visiting Curator Series: Lauren Haynes
June 2017
About the Curator
Flux Projects launches its inaugural Visiting Curator Series with Lauren Haynes, Curator of Contemporary Art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas.
For this first iteration of the series, Flux Projects is pleased to collaborate with BURNAWAY’s Art Writers Mentorship Program to co-host Haynes’s trip to Atlanta and her lecture at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center.
Haynes will speak about her work at the Studio Museum in Harlem and discuss her transition from New York City to Bentonville. She will also address how her approach to curating has changed since the move. What does it mean to curate contemporary art away from a major art center? What does it mean to go from a mission-specific institution to a museum with a collection spanning from the colonial period to today?
About Lauren Haynes:
Lauren Haynes is Curator, Contemporary Art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. Prior to joining Crystal Bridges in October 2016, Haynes spent nearly a decade at The Studio Museum in Harlem where she was, most recently the Associate Curator for the permanent collection. As a specialist in African-American modern and contemporary art, Haynes curated dozens of exhibitions at the Studio Museum and contemporary art institutions in New York. At the Studio Museum, Haynes oversaw the care and collection of the permanent collection as well as acquisitions, exhibitions and their Art-in-Residence program. She is a member of the Association of Art Museum Curators and serves on the Nomination and Governance Committee. Haynes is a recipient of a 2016 Gold Rush Award from Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation.
As an Assistant Curator at the Studio Museum, Haynes oversaw the Artist-in-Residence program in 2011–12, 2012–13 and 2013–14. In addition to that, Haynes curated over a dozen exhibitions including Carrie Mae Weems: The Museum Series, Spiral: Perspectives on an African-American Art Collective and Kira Lynn Harris: The Block/Bellona. She also co-curated several exhibitions including Fore, the most recent exhibition of emerging artists in the Studio Museum’s seminal “f” show series which includes Freestyle, Frequency, and Flow.
As part of her curatorial practice, Haynes has authored and co-authored several catalogues such as Alma Thomas, the Bearden Project, Speaking of People: Ebony, Jet and Contemporary Art, and Stanley Whitney: Dance the Orange. At the Studio Museum Haynes coordinated production for various publications: Gordon Parks: A Harlem Family 1967 (2012); Stephen Burks: Man Made (2011); Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: Any Number of Preoccupations (2011); Harlem: A Century in Images (2010); Kehinde Wiley – The Word Stage: Africa, Lagos ~ Dakar (2008); and Kori Newkirk: 1997-2007 (2007). In addition to her work at the Studio Museum, Haynes has participated in many panels and lectures about African-American artists. She has also lectured at venues around the United States including The Whitney Museum of American Art, Deutsche Bank and Texas State University, San Marcos. She is a member of the Association of Art Museum Curators and serves on the Nomination and Governance Committee. Haynes is a recipient of a 2016 Gold Rush Award from Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation.
See Also
ArtsATL – As Flux Project’s first visiting curator, Lauren Haynes speaks candidly about the challenges of curation, by Shantay Robinson (Jun 22, 2017)
Culture Type – Culture Talk: Curator Lauren Haynes on Bringing the Colorful, Abstract Paintings of Alma Thomas to Harlem’s Studio Museum, by Victoria L. Valentine (Sep 7, 2016)
Culture Type – Culture Talk: Lauren Haynes on ‘Speaking of People: Ebony, Jet and Contemporary Art,’ by Victoria L. Valentine (Nov 21, 2014)
Support
Brought to you in partnership with BURNAWAY. Founded in 2008, BURNAWAY is an Atlanta-based nonprofit organization that promotes contemporary art in the South in order to enrich the region’s cultural life and connect its diverse creative communities. Our authoritative online magazine and writing programs provide a platform to increase national recognition of our region’s artists and art writers. We fulfill our mission through our online art magazine, our Art Writers Mentorship Program, the Atlanta Art Guide, writing workshops, and public talks.
