Curation & Exhibition Design
" My Intimate Partner"
Oceanside Museum of Art
A multi-media art exhibition examining the intersection between intimacy, power, and control which leads to intimate partner violence (IPV, or domestic violence).
Through an artistic and transformative prism, the exhibition broadens the perception of intimate partner violence beyond a women’s issue into the social landscape that may shape such violence and explores the visitors’ own relationship to power and control. The museum experience presents positive aspects of surviving, along with raising awareness and promoting action towards eliminating IPV.
"The selected artworks serve not only as catalysts to
engage visitors in examining their own relationship to power and control but also as a platform for the social service organizations I collaborated with."
"In this critically important exhibit curated by Smadar Samson, you will see various artists depicting stages of intimate partner violence and its impact to the survivor. Exhibits such as this serve as a much-needed mirror giving voice for those who are suffering, and for those who have not gone through relational trauma, to help provide a deeper understanding of the survivor’s experience.
It is a powerful testament to what a person goes through having experienced violence in an intimate relationship. It is a testament to the strength and courage of survivors who are in on their healing journey from such traumatic events as they find their way to live life anew."
Christopher Walsh, LMFT
Clinical Director
Community Resource Center, San Diego North County
"My Intimate Partner exhibit impactfully captures the essence of domestic abuse: power and control. The artists powerfully and in a dignified manner convey various perspectives and experiences felt by someone in an abusive relationship. The visuals are beautiful, the sounds haunting, but overall, the exhibit is about survival and hope."
Claudia Grasso
Deputy District Attorney
Executive Director
One Safe Place, The North County Family Justice Center
" The Rupture of the White Cube":
an installation by Hugo Crosthwaite
Mesa College Art Gallery
An installation featuring Tijuana-based artist Hugo Crosthwaite dismantles the white cube gallery paradigm with sprawling impressions of life and dreams at the Mexican-American border. Part love letter to his city and part challenge to the traditional gallery experience, this exhibit offers a unique peek into Crosthwaite’s creative process and show how the border narratives of his artwork come alive and resist the traditional institutions where they are presented. Over two weeks, Crosthwaite performed a live endurance painting of his beloved town, inviting onlookers to peer through a panoramic window as he improvised drawings that spread across the pristine white walls. His stop-motion animation film, Tia Juana, Mi Amor, was simultaneously featured, blending the sounds and architecture of the city into the evolving artwork.
" Israel- 70 years of Craft & Design"
Mingei International Museum, San Diego
On the 70th anniversary of Israel’s independence, Mingei International Museum—a folk art, craft, and design museum that focuses on objects of use from around the world—was aptly hosting the exhibition “70 Years of Craft and Design”. The occasion provided a unique opportunity to tell the story of the modern state of Israel through tangible objects that not only combine aesthetics and functionality but also serve as repositories of values and meaning. The exhibition drew more than 53,000 visitors.
“These 125 objects reveal the imagination, skill, passion and grit of a people making their way in the world.
Smadar is a scholar who’s clear in her vision yet open to others’ ideas. This has been a wonderful collaboration."
Rob Sidner, Mingei’s Executive Director
and CEO
"Take time to read the descriptive labels, all written by Samson. They add a real feel for the context of the designs."
Let’s Review: Israel craft retrospective shines at Mingei Museum by Lonnie Bustein Hewitt
" ...a magnificent exhibition of Israeli craft and design. Beautifully laid out and filled with an expansive range of creations in a broad breadth of mediums, the exhibition exemplified the imagination, innovation and resourcefulness of a developing nation.
The accompanying catalogue beautifully captures the excitement of the museum event, presenting historical data as well as wonderful, page-size black & white and color plates of a sweeping array of craft and design creations: textiles, jewelry, ceramic, religious and ceremonial objects, furniture and clothing, and many more, with excellent accompanying explanatory information, and an outstanding, enlightening introduction by exhibition curator Smadar Samson.
The spirit of creation -- for Art’s sake, for functionality, for ceremonial/historical use, representing both individuality and unity -- is stunningly displayed in the catalogue. The striking cover, a detail from Noa Raviv’s ‘Ensemble from Hard Copy Collection’ (2014), created with 3-D software, hints at the wildly imaginative modernity and ingenuity that sits side by side, as it always has in Israel, with reverence for antiquity.”
Pat Launer, Arts Writer and Theater Critic
" ...a magnificent exhibition of Israeli craft and design. Beautifully laid out and filled with an expansive range of creations in a broad breadth of mediums, the exhibition exemplified the imagination, innovation and resourcefulness of a developing nation.
The accompanying catalogue beautifully captures the excitement of the museum event, presenting historical data as well as wonderful, page-size black & white and color plates of a sweeping array of craft and design creations: textiles, jewelry, ceramic, religious and ceremonial objects, furniture and clothing, and many more, with excellent accompanying explanatory information, and an outstanding, enlightening introduction by exhibition curator Smadar Samson.
The spirit of creation -- for Art’s sake, for functionality, for ceremonial/historical use, representing both individuality and unity -- is stunningly displayed in the catalogue. The striking cover, a detail from Noa Raviv’s ‘Ensemble from Hard Copy Collection’ (2014), created with 3-D software, hints at the wildly imaginative modernity and ingenuity that sits side by side, as it always has in Israel, with reverence for antiquity.”
Pat Launer, Arts Writer and Theater Critic
"Asked how the Israeli exhibition compares with others mounted by the Mingei in the past, Sidner responded: “I would say that it really is its own thing – sui generis – precisely because of Israel’s history. Israel is very new as a modern state, with people coming together from all over the world—especially from Europe and the Middle East, and this country—so it’s a melting pot in a way, but it hasn’t really melted. Jewish people are famous for having many points of view and not easily giving them up, and that has allowed a wonderful richness and diversity to exist side by side.”
https://jewishwebsite.com/arts-culture/70-years-of-israeli-crafts-on-display-at-mingei/29400/
http://www.latimes.com/sd-et-visual-mingei-israel-20180404-story.html
The project is a partnership between the House of Israel and Mingei International Museum with Executive Director, Rob Sidner, serving as curatorial advisor, and Jerry Maloney, exhibition designer.