The Curator: Allison Glenn
“The more we can get honest with ourselves and the communities that we are looking to serVE, the quicker we can move toward real change. This includes meeting audiences where they are, and not necessarily where we think they should be.”
5 Questions with Allison Glenn
Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Bentonville, AR
Allison M. Glenn is the Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. She was a member of the curatorial team for State of the Art 2020, which opened simultaneously at Crystal Bridges and the Momentary in early 2020. She also spearheaded the adaptation of Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal… (2020) at Crystal Bridges, the first comprehensive survey of the artist’s work, organized by the Portland Art Museum.
In her role, Glenn shapes how public sculpture activates and engages the museum’s 120-acre campus with outdoor exhibitions such as Color Field (2019). She has produced exhibitions within the galleries that explore concepts of identity and language in contemporary art such as Small Talk (2019) and Personal Space (2018).
Prior to working at Crystal Bridges, Glenn was the Manager of Publications and Curatorial Associate for Prospect New Orleans’ international art triennial Prospect.4: The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp. In 2018, she authored her first publication, Out of Easy Reach, co-published by DePaul Art Museum, Gallery 400 at University of Illinois-Chicago, and Rebuild Foundation, and distributed by the University of Chicago Press. Glenn’s writing has been featured in numerous exhibition publications, including those produced by The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Kemper Museum of Art, Prospect New Orleans, DePaul Art Museum, Rebuild Foundation, the California African American Museum, University at Buffalo Art Galleries, and The Studio Museum in Harlem. She has contributed to Hyperallergic, ART21 Magazine, ART PAPERS, Pelican Bomb’s Art Review, and Newcity, among others.
Glenn sits on the Board of Directors for ARCAthens, a curatorial and artist residency program based in Athens, Greece that supports and promotes growth in Athens’ visual arts community. She received dual master’s degrees from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Modern Art History, Theory and Criticism and Arts Administration and Policy, and a Bachelor of Fine Art Photography with a co-major in Urban Studies from Wayne State University in Detroit. Images of exhibitions follow this interview.
1. How has your curatorial practice changed and adapted as a result of the lockdown?
I’m in the middle of week 9 of social distancing, and I can share that—honestly—every day is different and, as such, requires a certain level of adaptation, patience, and goal setting to create space to embrace this new normal.
Overall, I’ve found the time at home to be very enjoyable. I’ve taken the time to read the books on my shelves that I’d always planned to dive into and those that I yearned to return to. I spend my mornings meditating or doing yoga—or both. Although these things are not directly tied to working with artists, they are directly tied to how I move through my day and show up in the world; which impacts everything that I do.
I’ve spent a lot of time on Zoom, attending and participating in curatorial conferences and talks—including The Aesthetics of Place, a Zoom panel discussion between State of the Art 2020 artists L. Kasimu Harris, Edra Soto, and Didier William, that I am moderating on Thursday, May 21, at 7pm CST. During the panel, each artist will consider how the aesthetic choices they make are informed by the places, people, power and time that they are depicting. State of the Art 2020 was co-curated by Alejo Benedetti, Lauren Haynes, and me.
During this time away from Crystal Bridges, much of my curatorial work has been focused on assessing the collection and making recommendations for acquisition of artworks, which is one of those rewarding practices that focused time away from the day to day bustle affords. In my role, I’ve also had the incredibly rewarding opportunity to work with a team to shape how public sculpture activates and engages the museum’s 120-acre campus. We are currently making big changes to the artwork on our campus that will be such a treat for guests when we reopen.
I’ve done a few virtual studio visits and have personally hosted a weekly Zoom session with friends who are artists and arts professionals working and living in the United States.
2. We have seen programming go virtual. From your perspective, what are the best ways to utilize these digital platforms?
In my experience, a good combination of moderated discussion and audience engagement is key. I recently participated in a Virtual Curatorial Leadership Summit discussion hosted by The Armory Show that started with three curators being asked one question each, followed by open discussion amongst guests. There were over 70 attendees, but it still felt intimate and the conversation flowed nicely.
3. This crisis is starkly exposing the inequities in our society at large and across industries, hopefully opening the eyes of those that previously did not see it. How might the cultural sector most effectively integrate these lessons at the forefront of this discussion and continue to drive it forward?
Like anything else in this world, the inequities that are surfacing are the same ones that are often faced by those with less privilege, education, wealth, and social status. Your question points to a greater issue of the need for awareness. I’ve been grateful to keep my job during this crisis, which was a decision and commitment that my institution made to the entire museum staff. The awareness of the need to support all workers at this time—regardless of their position—was a courageous one that I applaud.
Courage and honesty are not immediately tied to successful outcomes, but the more we can get honest with ourselves and the communities that we are looking to serve—and what the barriers are to reaching the communities that we have been unsuccessful in serving—the quicker we can move toward real change. This includes meeting audiences where they are, and not necessarily where we think they should be.
4. This crisis could change the landscape of cultural patronage. In your view, how does it most urgently need to evolve?
Arts patronage has historically been tied to a small percentage of society, but things are changing. If we could pull back the curtain on how professionals can access opportunities to get engaged in cultural patronage, philanthropy, and collecting, the field at large would be in a better place. Let’s make pathways to collecting for anyone who is interested in engaging, and, similarly, let’s make pathways to upper level membership opportunities, committees, and various social organizations that provide inroads to anyone who wants access to artists, ideas, and networks where they can contribute.
5. I argue that the general public does not understand what the arts sector really is, who it really serves, and how it impacts society at large, and that the sector has not properly advocated for itself and communicated arts importance in society. How can we best make this case, which is essential now more than ever?
When you ask people to share their favorite musician, favorite article of clothing, favorite movie, favorite book, favorite food, live performance, or dream place to visit, nine times out of ten people will rattle off a long list. But, if you ask them the same question about their favorite visual artist, movement, or artwork, they may feel stumped; or approach the question with trepidation. Many may say that they cannot understand contemporary art, or why a 33 foot tall sculpture made of 64 canoes matters outside of the wow factor that the scale presents.
I would argue that this inability to approach visual art with the same level of criticality that one approaches popular culture is due largely to the lack of arts education in school curricula. The message that this sends is that the arts are not necessary, nor vital, to the intellectual development of a human being, and therefore not crucial to everyday life. Which is horribly, horribly inaccurate. I believe in the power of art to transform lives and am grateful to be a part of a mission of access—Crystal Bridges connects art and education with public programs, professional development, and school tours that bring thousands of students to the museum for curriculum-based arts experiences. As someone who grew up going to museums, it’s inspiring to walk into the galleries and see students of all ages learning directly from the exhibitions and artworks on view.
Allison M. Glenn is the Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. She was a member of the curatorial team for State of the Art 2020, which opened simultaneously at Crystal Bridges and the Momentary in early 2020. She also spearheaded the adaptation of Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal… (2020) at Crystal Bridges, the first comprehensive survey of the artist’s work, organized by the Portland Art Museum.
In her role, Glenn shapes how public sculpture activates and engages the museum’s 120-acre campus with outdoor exhibitions such as Color Field (2019). She has produced exhibitions within the galleries that explore concepts of identity and language in contemporary art such as Small Talk (2019) and Personal Space (2018).
Prior to working at Crystal Bridges, Glenn was the Manager of Publications and Curatorial Associate for Prospect New Orleans’ international art triennial Prospect.4: The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp. In 2018, she authored her first publication, Out of Easy Reach, co-published by DePaul Art Museum, Gallery 400 at University of Illinois-Chicago, and Rebuild Foundation, and distributed by the University of Chicago Press. Glenn’s writing has been featured in numerous exhibition publications, including those produced by The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Kemper Museum of Art, Prospect New Orleans, DePaul Art Museum, Rebuild Foundation, the California African American Museum, University at Buffalo Art Galleries, and The Studio Museum in Harlem. She has contributed to Hyperallergic, ART21 Magazine, ART PAPERS, Pelican Bomb’s Art Review, and Newcity, among others.
Glenn sits on the Board of Directors for ARCAthens, a curatorial and artist residency program based in Athens, Greece that supports and promotes growth in Athens’ visual arts community. She received dual master’s degrees from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Modern Art History, Theory and Criticism and Arts Administration and Policy, and a Bachelor of Fine Art Photography with a co-major in Urban Studies from Wayne State University in Detroit.
State of the Art 2020 installation at the Momentary. Image by Dero Sanford.
L. Kasimu Harris, Come Tuesday (Sportsman’s Corner), 2018, archival pigment print, 25 ¼ x 37 in., Courtesy of L. Kasimu Harris.
Nancy Rubins, Monochrome II, 2010-2018, stainless steel, stainless steel wire, and aluminum, 33 × 55 × 35 ft. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2017.21. Photo: Stephen Ironside.