Friday, September 8

3:30pm | Curatorial Leadership Summit: Public Discussion | (In)Vision: A Conversation with Michael Govan, LACMA

Featuring Adrienne Edwards, Engell Speyer Family Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and Michael Govan, CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

The Armory Show’s Curatorial Leadership Summit (CLS) is an annual, closed-door, day-long symposium that aims to foster innovation in the curatorial landscape. This year’s edition is chaired by Adrienne Edwards, Engell Speyer Family Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Titled Curating the Institution, the convening will constellate and take as its points of departure the historical, conceptual, and material threads manifested in and developed in collaboration with Eva Respini's Platform section and Candice Hopkins's Focus section. The program asks the question: What are the kinds of cultural institutions we need today to thrive?


Saturday, September 9

12:30pm | The Future of the Art Market: A Live Recording of “The Art Angle”

Featuring Megan Fox Kelly, Founder of Megan Fox Kelly Art Advisory; Susanne Vielmetter, Owner and Director of Vielmetter Los Angeles; and Alain Servais, Collector and Founder of The Servais Family Collection—moderated by Eileen Kinsella, Senior Market Editor of Artnet News.
In partnership with Artnet.

Tectonic shifts are being felt across the art market. From the expansion of digital mediums and the movement toward ultra-contemporary art to new generations of buyers and the ascent of mega-galleries, the arts landscape is undoubtedly undergoing rapid and monumental change. This panel will discuss the future of the art market in broad strokes, considering key forces behind these major movements.


2pm | In Conversation—Rewriting Histories

Featuring artists Hank Willis Thomas and Shahzia Sikander—moderated by Eva Respini, Deputy Director and Director of Curatorial Programs at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

The 2023 Platform section, titled Rewriting Histories, centers on artists who expand or challenge the canon of art, history, and culture. In this panel, participating Platform artists will examine how artists respond to the limits of official archives and narratives through storytelling and speculative narration as a means of addressing history’s erasures and omissions.


4pm | Urgency and Collective Action: Navigating Climate Reform in the Arts

Featuring Carson Chan, Director of the Emilio Ambasz Institute for the Joint Study of the Built and the Natural Environment, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA); Mary Miss, Artistic Director of City as Living Laboratory (CALL); and Whitney McGuire, Associate Director of Sustainability at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Founding Committee Member of Gallery Climate Coalition, New York—moderated by Felix Burrichter, Editorial and Creative Director of PIN-UP.
In partnership with PIN-UP.

This conversation seeks to paint an expansive picture of climate responsibility across the arts landscape by bringing together perspectives from curatorial, institutional, and artist-led spaces. The panelists will discuss ways to integrate sustainable practices into existing frameworks, the necessity of collaborating across disciplinary boundaries, and the creation of new pathways for promoting climate consciousness as a united front.



Sunday, September 10

12:30pm | Queer Futures: Art, Fashion, Identity

Featuring writer and performance artist Alok Vaid-Menon in conversation with Matthew Yokobosky, Senior Curator of Fashion and Material Culture at the Brooklyn Museum.

As oppressive legislation and structural injustices continue to cast dark shadows on the daily lives of queer and transgender people, this conversation considers the role of cultural institutions in protecting and caring for queer identities. In unpacking the relationship between art, fashion, and identity, the panel will consider the liberatory possibilities of degendering fashion, and the power of curating queer voices into mainstream narratives.


2pm | In Conversation—Inheritances: material and otherwise

Featuring artists Yhonnie Scarce, Stephanie Syjuco, and Dyani White Hawk—moderated by Candice Hopkins, Director and Chief Curator of Forge Project.

The 2023 Focus section considers emergent and established artists whose work is decidedly outside of the mainstream. The panel will discuss uncovering little-known narratives through artmaking, asking the possibilities of manifesting histories through material.


4pm | Conscious Collecting in the Contemporary Market

Featuring collectors Sarah Arison, President of the Arison Arts Foundation; Komal Shah, Founder of the Shah Garg Foundation; and George Wells, CEO and Founder of Wells Group of New York—moderated by Sarah Harrelson, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of CULTURED.

Bringing together prominent collectors with ranging areas of focus, this panel will discuss opportunities for creating positive change through the collecting process. Together, the panelists will consider the impacts that responsible collecting can have on the art market, the power of reaching beyond the canon, and the importance of establishing trust between collectors, galleries, and artists.