In this double-feature, new Wattis Director and Chief Curator, Daisy Nam, will speak on the art/artists and thinkers/theories that have shaped her body of methods, and how that relates to the work she’s engaging at CCA. She will be joined by curator, Jeanne Gerrity, as they give an introduction to the themes explored in the Wattis' debut exhibition: All This Soft Wild Buzzing, opening on October 19th and, STEADY: Michelle Lopez and Ester Partegás, opening in January 2025. 

About the Speaker:

Daisy Nam has been named as the new director and chief curator of the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts at California College of the Arts. Nam joins the Wattis from Ballroom Marfa, where she has been a curator since 2020 and the director since 2022. Nam is widely recognized for her extensive experience working with living artists curating and developing exhibitions, commissions, public and teaching programs, as well as in fundraising and donor cultivation. 

Daisy Nam’s approach to curation and program development is noted for its focus on fostering dialogues with artists to develop new work that connects contemporary art with broader societal issues. Her tenure at Ballroom Marfa was marked by exhibitions and programs that engaged with critical themes and expanded the boundaries of artistic expression. Of particular note are the exhibitions Guadalupe Maravilla: Mariposa Relámpago; Kenneth Tam: Tender is the hand which holds the stone of memory; and Tongues of Fire, a group exhibition that included works by artists Jorge Méndez Blake, Jesse Chun, Adriana Corral, JJJJJerome Ellis, and Nakai Flotte, which explored the ways in which language has been suppressed, silenced, or obscured. Nam has also led the process for the development of Ballroom Marfa’s forthcoming 20th anniversary publication, published jointly with Monacelli Press. Previous positions include Assistant Director of Public Programs at the School of the Arts at Columbia University (2008-2015) and Individual Development Coordinator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (2005-2008). 

Nam holds an M.A. in Modern Art Curatorial and Critical Studies from Columbia University and a B.A. in Art History with a Cinema Studies minor from New York University.