on-off.site residency
Grounded in her 2019 master’s thesis, Momoh’s research examines an 1837 portrait of a free woman of color (#NotBetsy) from New Orleans in the Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC), which fell prey to damaging alterations made by a professional restorer the museum hired. The restorer covered objects signifying the Black sitter’s power and wealth, allegedly without THNOC’s consent.
During this residency, these issues of vandalism and the concept of race, care, authorship, and authenticity will be explored in historical and contemporary visual arts contexts.
Part 1: Not Betsy
About
Lucia Olubunmi Momoh works as a curatorial assistant at the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. She completed her bachelor's in art history and French at the University of Oregon in 2012 and spent 2012-2016 working as an office manager for the Washington Council for Behavioral Health, a mental health advocacy organization in Seattle. She obtained her master's at Tulane University in 2019.
Lucia’s curatorial practice as part of her social and environmental activism and informed by postcolonial and critical race theory. Her administrative interests concern establishing connections to and involvement with marginalized communities, especially poor, lower, and working class youth and adults; BIPOC; people with physical and/or mental disabilities; trans and queer people; and displaced and imprisoned people. In addition, Lucia is concerned with creating a more sustainable funding model for museums and arts non-profits that is not dependent on the State or the elite.
Her administrative interests concern establishing connections to and involvement with marginalized communities, especially poor, lower, and working class youth and adults; BIPOC; people with physical and/or mental disabilities; trans and queer people; and displaced and imprisoned people. In addition, Lucia is concerned with creating a more sustainable funding model for museums and arts non-profits that is not dependent on the State or the elite. Lucia’s curatorial practice as part of her social and environmental activism and informed by postcolonial and critical race theory.
From New Orleans to the Bay
An intimate exploration of Chanell Stone’s Natura Negra series (2018-2019) and the re-naturing of Black womxn in the natural, urban landscapes of American cities. Through conversation with Stone and reflecting on her photographs, Momoh ties history to contemporary lived experiences and examines the interrelation of gender, race, class, the environment, and spirituality expressed in Stone’s series.
