How did you get involved with Yerba Buena?
I have been in the arts world for the last 5 years. I started out at a large regional theatre planning fundraising events. There was an opening for an events coordinator at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, I applied and I got it.
What has been your favorite show to come through?
Perfect Spaces: Pictures and Films by Oliver Boberg. Boberg creates these scalar models of industrial sites and then blows them up in massive photos and films, they are stunning. The exhibition was up while I was in the midst of doing some serious fundraising and planning for the Bay Area Now 4 exhibition. I needed a quiet place where I could catch my breath. I would leave my cube, head into the dark gallery and escape.
What artist/ genre/ group of artists would you most like to have show there?
More music/bands in our spaces! We are in our second year of our YBCA Presents Season and we have had incredible performers on our stages. This spring we will have Kronos Quartet with Matmos and Walter Kitundu. I would love for us to become a venue known to present bands and musicians (in addition to the entertainers I book for our Opening Night Parties and our rental events). I just noticed that the UCLA Hammer Museum is presenting this puppet rock-opera with music by Japanther, wow. Yeah we should do stuff like that too. . .
What's your take on the Bay Area art scene?
I love how collaborative it is. This year we have been looking into artist collectives in our upstairs galleries, and it has been wonderful to see these diverse artists share knowledge and resources.
Advice for artists out there?
Find a mentor. I believe that we can learn best from those who have done what we want to do. I would love to start a non-profit that would match mentors and mentees in the arts.