I was especially drawn to founding a new museum snd shaping its collection and exhibition program. When the curator position at the Glass House opened up in late 2006, I jumped at the opportunity, as I clearly saw the position's potential. It travelled abroad to Germany and was included in Entry 2006, an large-scale design exposition at UNESCO World Heritage site Zeche Zollverein, funded by the European Union, the German state of Westphalia, and the city of Essen. Groundswell received critical and popular acclaim. MoMA provided professional curatorial training, and it is where I learned to organize all aspects of an exhibition - the exhibition itself, catalog, website, and symposium.Īt MoMA, I organized Groundswell: Constructing the Contemporary Landscape, the museum's first survey on landscape architecture with Peter Reed, Senior Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs. My career as a curator began in earnest when I joined the Museum of Modern Art's Department of Architecture and Design, the department founded by Philip Johnson in 1930. In particular, I was interested in career as a curator specializing in art and architecture. During my second year at Yale, I knew that I wanted return museum work. In between my studies, I worked at the New Museum of Contemporary Art and Whitney Museum of American Art. What is it like being the curator of an estate? What drew you to the job? I first studied art history and architecture at Barnard College, Columbia University, then focused on architecture at Yale University. Here, the multitalented curator speaks about these contemporary art interventions, architecture preservation and her role in the orchestration of the two. This year, she invited Yayoi Kusama to play house. The caretaker of a modernist icon, Shum, has been initiating new discussions of the mystical property by incorporating equally entrancing art. Her impact can be felt in the renewed interest in architect Philip Johnson's legacy. Photo by Matthew Placek.Ĭurator and Collections Manager Irene Shum has been at the Glass House for a decade.

Yayoi Kusama's Dots Obsession – Alive, Seeking for Eternal Hope, 2016.

Groundswell by Peter Reed