Guarding the Art: A Frontline Perspective

About the Exhibition

Conceived by the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), which is led by Asma Naeem, PhD, the Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director, and BMA Trustee Amy Elias, Guarding the Art provided the opportunity for these guest curators to draw from their unique insights and perspectives and create an original exhibition, including didactics, interpretation materials, object labels, and an illustrated catalogue. They worked closely with mentoring curator Susana Torruella Leval, Director Emerita and former chief curator of El Museo del Barrio, and PhxArt organizing curator, Christian Ramírez, the Cohn Assistant Curator of Contemporary and Community Art Initiatives. They also collaborated with the Museum’s registration and preparation team, marketing and communications, the education and engagement department, and all administrative teams critical to presenting our exhibitions to the community.

PhxArt followed the model developed by the BMA after its 2022 exhibition debut and presents its own exhibition – the first national iteration of the exhibition – to Arizona audiences. The project, which challenges traditional museum hierarchies and fosters dialogue about who can and should talk about art, is the first of its kind at Phoenix Art Museum.