CIRCA Catalyst
Amy Cavanaugh and Doreen Bolger
Wednesday, March 6, noon - 1 p.m.
Room 216, Performing Arts and Humanities Building
Wednesday, March 6, noon - 1 p.m.
Room 216, Performing Arts and Humanities Building
The Center for Innovation, Research, and Creativity in the Arts (CIRCA) presents a CIRCA Catalyst event featuring Amy Cavanaugh and Doreen Bolger. CIRCA Catalyst is an ongoing series promoting conversations around trans-disciplinary and interdisciplinary research that fuses the performing and visual arts with other fields of inquiry and scholarship. The presenters will discuss the evolution of curatorial work over forty years, beginning in the 1970s with Bolger's work on historic American Art, continuing with Cavanagh's efforts with living artists, and concluding with their recent collaboration on MAP's 2018 exhibition Repurposed with Purpose: Making and Meaning in the Materials of Art. They will consider substantial changes in curatorial intention, from sometimes esoteric art historical research to community impact and engagement, and comment on opportunities and challenges offered by technology and its innovations.
Amy Cavanaugh is the niece of color-field artist James Hilleary and daughter of sculptor Carolyn Cavanaugh. Cavanaugh was born in Washington, DC, and trained there as a classical cellist at the Catholic University of America. She then toured and worked in the recording industry, playing with the instrumental band, Yeveto, composers of experimental rock music. In 2004, Cavanaugh joined Washington's ARCH Development Corporation as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. There in 2007 she opened the Honfleur Gallery, now recognized as one of the region's leading platforms for emerging and mid-career local, national, and international artists. In 2012, she became the Executive Director of Maryland Art Place (MAP), the anchor arts organization in Baltimore's Bromo Tower Arts and Entertainment District. MAP places emerging and mid-career artists in the spotlight with professionally-staged exhibitions and programs as well as community outreach. In 2014, Cavanaugh boldly returned MAP to its original home, a five-story historic building on Saratoga Street, after some peripatetic years, most spent in the Inner Harbor.
Doreen Bolger retired in 2015 after 17 years as Director of The Baltimore Museum of Art, a center for 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art, where she redefined its artistic focus, placing greater emphasis on its world-class collection; initiated major traveling exhibitions; expanded educational programs; and eliminated general admission fees. She also led a major BMA renovation, including the transformation of galleries and essential infrastructure, improved visitor amenities, and the addition of a new education center that offers creative experiences for visitors. Bolger, a supporter of the city's emerging art scene, plays a leadership role in the region's cultural community, serving on the boards of the Creative Alliance and Maryland Citizens for the Arts. She was previously Director of the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, and served as a curator at the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, TX, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. Bolger received her Ph.D. from the Graduate Center of The City University of NY, M.A. from the University of Delaware, Newark, and B.A. from Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA.
Lunch provided. Admission is free and open to the public.
