1/10/2023 – The Walker Art Center announced today that it has appointed Taylor Jasper as Assistant Curator of Visual Arts. Jasper joins the Walker from the contemporary art space The Momentary, affiliated with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, where she most recently held the position of Curatorial Associate. Her curatorial focus has emphasized the work of emerging artists, site-specific projects, and multidisciplinary interventions. She joins a growing team of seven in the Walker’s Visual Arts department, where she will continue to work actively to develop and support exhibitions, acquisitions, artist projects, and public programs. Jasper will begin in her new role at the Walker on January 25, 2023.
“We are delighted to welcome Taylor Jasper, a rising talent, to our curatorial team. Taylor has developed a multivalent curatorial practice that is grounded in commitment and passion for collaboration, experimentation, and meaningful engagement with artists and audiences. We look forward to working with Taylor and know that her distinct voice, vision, and perspective will greatly impact the Walker’s Visual Arts program, cross-disciplinary initiatives, and collections development,” said Henriette Huldisch, the Walker Art Center’s Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs.
“I am excited to begin my position as Assistant Curator at the Walker Art Center—an institution whose experimental spirit and dedication to artists speaks directly to my curatorial priorities. I look forward to working together with the Walker’s passionate team and its vibrant communities to engage this legacy of artistic risk, while supporting artists’ practices,” said Jasper.
Jasper brings a thoughtful and generous approach to her curatorial work, informed by an ethics of care and developed through collaborations with artists such as Olalekan Jeyifous, Auriea Harvey, and Kandis Williams. During her tenure at The Momentary, she co-curated and supported seven seasons of ambitious interdisciplinary programming, including exhibitions, artist residencies, and public art installations with artists Doug Aitken, Sarah Cain, Esteban Cabeza de Baca, Martine Gutierrez, Eric N. Mack, Troy Montes-Michie, Simphiwe Ndzube, and Xaviera Simmons, among many others.
Before joining The Momentary in 2020, Jasper was a Curatorial Research Assistant at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA), where she was an integral member of the curatorial and editorial teams for the touring exhibition and catalogue The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture, and the Sonic Impulse, organized by Valerie Cassel Oliver, the VMFA’s Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. She holds a BA in Africana Studies and Art History from The College of William & Mary. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Jasper will relocate to Minneapolis to take on her new role.
The Walker’s Visual Arts program is recognized for its experimental approach, commitment to emerging artists and art forms, and long-standing collaborations with artists, from Minnesota and from across the country and the globe. The Walker recently opened two significant surveys, including Jannis Kounellis in Six Acts, which explores the influential practice of the Arte Povera artist, and Paul Chan: Breathers, which captures Chan’s evolving work over the past 15 years, from his groundbreaking approach to publishing through his return to artmaking. In 2023, the Walker will open a wide range of compelling presentations, including an exhibition of new work by Kahlil Robert Irving in February, the first retrospective of artist Pacita Abad in April, and a sweeping exploration of art made in six Central Eastern European nations during the 1960s to 1980s in October.
