Under the leadership of Director Matthew Borgen, Arcadia Exhibitions will showcase an evolving curatorial direction more closely aligning the program with the University’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) and Combating anti-Black Racism (CABR) initiatives.

Since the inception of the program, Arcadia Exhibitions has sought to provide a space for students to be exposed to and interact with the works of leading professional artists as part of their training to become artists and designers themselves. The program will continue this tradition of presenting shows for the educational and cultural benefit of the Arcadia community but with a new focus.

“I feel my strengths lie in facilitating and uplifting the vision of collaborative partners,” says Borgen, who has served in various roles within the program since 2005. “That said, my work-study students and I will be interacting with an array of guest curators. Our focus will be on providing professional opportunities for emerging curators and artists, particularly those whose research reflects the diversity and social concerns of the Arcadia community.”

This past spring, for its contribution to the region-wide exhibition series (re)Focus 2024, which celebrated women in the arts, Arcadia Exhibitions worked with guest curator Grace Harmer to present “A Strong In-Your-Face Word: Works from the Brodsky Center at PAFA,” which displayed prints and handmade paper editions exemplifying the changing strategies and priorities of artists contributing to the feminist movement from the 1960s to now.

Scott Kip’s installation “Perpetual Inventory” is another example of Arcadia Exhibitions’ efforts to promote inclusivity in their shows, as the fully interactive installation was constructed with accessibility at the forefront of its design.

Borgen plans to expand on the work done this past spring. 

“All projects that we undertake as a program will focus on works created by individuals from traditionally underrepresented groups, or on research topics vital to our collaborative partners from across the campus community. 

“As we plan for future exhibitions, we are making a concerted effort to consult with other programs and departments across the institution to find ways of aligning our offerings with existing priorities,” he explained. “Needless to say, CABR as a campus-wide priority is a vital part of those conversations.”

One show, already on display in the Rosedale Gallery, developed in this way is “Kris Graves: Privileged Mediocrity – Memorialization in America,” which will run through Feb. 9, 2025. Developed in cooperation with Director Adam Hess and Landman Library, as well as with vital input from Dr. Christopher Varlack, executive director of the Center for Antiracist, Scholarship, Advocacy, and Action (CASAA), the exhibition focuses on Kris Graves’ recent project “Privileged Mediocrity,” which examines the impact of racism and power on the nation’s built environments.

Landman Library will host the artist on October 29 at 6 p.m. in the Great Room, University Commons.

Arcadia Exhibitions will also display works in the Harrison Gallery from illustrator and cartoonist Anuj Shrestha’s “Prologue/Epilogue” illustration series and “Studies” comic series.

“Not only are we excited to share Anuj’s perspective on current world events, but also to undertake a show of works by a professional illustrator, active in the commercial field, as this is one of our most popular majors within Art and Design,” said Borgen. “The show reflects our priority of meeting our students where they are in their creative journey.”

Shrestha’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, ProPublica, Wired, and Playboy, among others, and has been featured in the Society of Illustrators and American Illustration annuals. He has also won two gold medals for his comics from the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art Festival Awards of Excellence and a gold medal from The Society of Illustrators.

“I believe exposure to the arts is vital to a liberal arts education, and so my overall goal is to have as many of our community members, in particular students, interact with our exhibition spaces as possible,” Borgen said. “Traditionally, galleries and museums are perceived as, and justifiably so, authoritative, elitist, patriarchal, and white-dominated. Entering a space with that kind of loaded context can be very intimidating. So if the goal is to encourage interaction with the exhibition spaces, then the work on display and the programming that is offered must actively work against these preconceptions. The exhibitions need to feel as though they belong to the community. Thus, the artists and curators whose research inhabits these spaces must reflect the racial, social, and cultural makeup of our community to have any hope of relevancy or benefit.”