The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood. A Conversation with Jane Hart

A historic mansion in downtown Hollywood, Fla., houses the Art and Culture Center, an institution that has become a creative laboratory for local talents. In this interview, Jane Hart, curator of exhibitions talks about the mission of the center, upcoming exhibitions and the different resources the center offers to benefit artists and the local community.

By Raisa Clavijo

Raisa Clavijo - The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood stands out for its exhibitions program. You have performed a key role in making it a creative laboratory that supports and promotes Florida-based artists. When did you join the center?

Jane Hart - I joined the center in 2007. During this period of six years, I am gratified by the programming that has been possible, particularly in light of the financial climate that has prevailed, beginning after the first year I joined the center. The fact that we had less to spend on shipping shows from a distance afforded the opportunity to focus primarily on South Florida talent, which has been tremendously rewarding and very exciting. The current landscape of artistic practice has really evolved in a dynamic way and it is gratifying to feel we have been engaged in that evolution.

R.C. - What do you see as the mission of the center within the greater South Florida community?

J.H. - To show the best contemporary art available, featuring regional talent as well as artists from other places such as Los Angeles (where I lived and worked for 13 years prior to moving back to Miami a decade ago), New York (where I am from originally, attended SVA and worked in the 1980s-a very heady time in the art world) as well as Europe, Asia, South America and elsewhere. We provide these artists with a unique platform to manifest new ideas and projects.

R.C. - Tell us a little about your professional background. Where do your curatorial and research interests lie?

J.H. - I have been working in the international contemporary fine arts for more than 30 years in New York, Los Angeles, London and South Florida. I have worked in nearly every facet of the contemporary visual arts arena including working with some of the country’s finest galleries: Piezo Electric in the early 1980s East Village, owned by Doug Milford and Lisa Mac Donald; Marlborough, N.Y.; Angela Flowers Gallery in London; L.A. Louver Gallery in Venice, Calif.; and eventually founding my own gallery in my home in the Hollywood Hills; also lemon sky: a project space, later lemon sky: projects and editions on Wilshire Boulevard in L.A. I moved my gallery project here to Miami a decade ago, including a space in Wynwood, and was concurrently on Locust Projects’ board of directors and then its board chair, succeeding Dennis Scholl, during which time Locust received its initial Warhol Foundation Arts Initiative grant of $100,000. I also worked with two limited edition fine arts publishers: internationally acclaimed Gemini G.E.L. and then spearheaded the groundbreaking of the first, all-digitally-oriented printmaking studio, Muse [X] Editions, during which time I collaborated with a virtual who’s who of internationally acclaimed artists. We placed the very first digitally crafted artworks acquired by MoMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Walker Art Center, Tate in London and many other museums worldwide.

In terms of my own personal arts-related development, I began by auditing classes at the University of Miami at age 12, studying with Eugene Massin. I then lived abroad studying art as a teenager in Europe, attending school in the Netherlands, where I was afforded the enriching experience of visiting many of the world’s best museums and art centers. As a child raised in New York City my parents exposed me to the museums and experiencing “happenings” and the like, which ignited my passion for art. My practice has been multilayered, including making my own art, curating, writing and art dealing. I really began curating in earnest in the early 1990s in Los Angeles. The first major exhibition I put together was entitled “A Vital Matrix” and included then-relatively-new artists such as Gregory Crewdson, Walton Ford, Jim Hodges, Matthew Ritchie as well as important artists such as Wallace Berman, Vija Celmins, Anya Gallacio, Alexis Rockman and Don Suggs. I love to put shows together which integrate new and established artists and create a dialogue that can emerge from these groupings. I am interested in all processes and mediums. The key for me is work that engages on many levels-conceptually, emotionally, viscerally and even at times spiritually-work that is accessible to the casual viewer as well as the trained eye; work that ultimately inspires and challenges the viewer.

R.C. - How do you consider that your experience at the center has influenced your professional path?

J.H. - After working over the past 25 years with so many amazing artists-Doug Aitken, John Baldessari, Uta Barth, Wallace Berman (Estate), Peter Halley, David Hockney, Mike Kelley, Ed and Nancy Kienholz, Fabian Marcaccio, Diana Thater, James Welling (and countless others) on a multitude of projects-my time at the center has really been largely devoted to engaging with the artists working in South Florida. There is an incredible wealth of talent here now and I believe this is finally the moment for Miami to truly emerge as a viable international art center beyond the Art Basel Miami Beach experience.

R.C. - Can local artists submit projects to be included in your exhibitions program? What is the selection process?

J.H. - Yes, artists are always able to submit work for consideration. The preferred method for me is to first review online and then, if I wish to pursue something further, to meet and finally do a studio visit. I enjoy seeing work and discovering talent new to me. It’s a very rewarding part of what I do! This is the link for artist to become acquainted with our submission process: http://artandculturecenter.org/resources-for-artists. We also have a couple of ongoing exhibits which select artists can participate in: Every two years we have our All-Media Juried Biennial, whereby artists can submit images of works to be considered for inclusion. Each biennial has a different juror. Our 2013 biennial was chosen by Hunter Braithwaite, editor of the Miami Rail and contributor to Artforum and Gean Moreno, founder of [NAME] Publications, independent curator, artist and art critic. Every year we present a month-long exhibition and fundraiser called “Abracadabra.” This year we included work by 117 artists, who were selected by invitation and donated a work of art valued at a minimum of $500. We have had donated works valued up to $15,000. All are raffled off at the end of the show for a few hundred dollars a piece. We have found this exhibit and fundraiser to be a special and exciting endeavor that benefits all-artists, collectors and the center, which reaps the benefit of funds raised, as well as presents an engaging show, which often is a platform enabling emerging artists to gain exposure for their work. The more well known artists who donate do so as a way to contribute to the center’s ongoing commitment to the community of artists here in our region. I believe the center shows more South Florida-based artists than any other contemporary arts venue in our vicinity.

R.C. - Tell me about the resources the center offers to artists to improve their careers.

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J.H. - The center offers all manner of workshops and lectures for artists and the general community. Our John and James L. Knight Foundation “Hot Topics” lecture series, which I conceived more than two years ago, has been an extremely successful forum for the public to engage with some of the most important internationally recognized art professionals. Our 2010-11 series featured speakers, art critic Jerry Saltz, curator Shamim Momin, and curator/art historians Dan Cameron and Marvin Heiferman.

Next season we will have a series of four presentations with artists Lyle Ashton Harris, Wayne White and Andrea Zittel as well as the stars and creators of the acclaimed web-based, art-related comedy series “Whole Day Down” Tai and Dan Fauci and actors Willie Garson (of “Sex and the City” fame,) Patrick Breen and Elisa Donovan. Viewers can see all the episodes here: http://wholedaydown.tv/

R.C. - In 2003, the center started the All-Media Juried Biennial. Tell me more about this event. Is this exhibition devoted to Florida artists?

J.H. - The biennial was founded before I joined the center. The 2007 exhibit juried by then-Locust Projects’ Director Claire Bruekel, was the first exhibit I installed. It is a fantastic opportunity for artists within the state of Florida to showcase recent work. Artists from without the entire state are welcome to submit. The next biennial will be in 2015. The jurors will be Tami Katz-Friedman and Ombretta Agrò. The submission process will begin in early 2015.

R.C. - Are independent curators welcomed to submit proposals to the center?

J.H. - Independent curators are welcome to contact me directly to discuss possible ideas. The center is currently booked with exhibitions up until 2016.

R.C. - Tell us about the different educational programs the center develops to give local schools and the whole community access to its exhibitions.

J.H. - My colleague Susan Rakes oversees the educational programming, student gallery shows and family-friendly performing arts series. The center offers a wealth of activities in these areas: art classes for both children and adults, a wide range of innovative performances musical, dramatic and dance, as well as film screenings and, of course, the upcoming “Hot Topics” lecture series. Our outstanding Student Gallery is available for outside schools and institutions to rent and present shows, as well as the shows the center organizes of works created by our students and summer camp participants. We have a terrific summer camp program available for children. More information is available in our website.

Throughout the year we offer the opportunity of groups of all kinds to come visit the center for guided tours.

R.C. - On June 8, you will unveil ” Charles M. Schulz: Pop Culture in Peanuts” featuring nearly five decades of work by this legendary cartoonist. Tell me a bit about this show.

J.H. - I am so excited about this show which we began organizing together with the Charles M. Schulz Museum (CMSM) nearly two years ago. It will be the largest exhibit in over a decade of Schulz’s original drawings for his strip, (the most successful comic strip in history) spanning his prolific 50-year career. Accompanying the 71 drawings will be a handpicked selection of pop culture memorabilia I put together, including references to punk, grunge, early technology such as an 1980s cell phone, boombox, and Sony Walkman, TV- and movie-related items ranging from “The Pink Panther,” Bo Derek, Western TV shows made popular in the 1950s and 1960s, New Age, self-help, and much more! We will also have a lifesize Snoopy doghouse (fully decorated), Peanuts related films and music, a play area with puzzles, games and art supplies! The whole extravaganza will kick off with our Snoopy Jazz Party on June 8, featuring jazz great Joe Donato playing all the Vince Guaraldi Peanuts- themed music, a Snoopy mascot, cartooning workshop, raffle prizes and root beer and handmade chocolate chip cookies-Snoopy’s favorite snack! The festivities take place on the show’s opening day and will be from 1 through 4 p.m. The center will be open that day from noon until 5 p.m. Please contact the center for details regarding admission fees as well as field-trip information.

R.C. - Can you share with us what curatorial projects you are working on at the moment? What exhibitions can the South Florida visitors enjoy at the center during fall and winter seasons?

J.H. - This coming season we have some terrific exhibits planned. In the main gallery we will open the season with a show of new mixed media works by Francesco LoCastro, followed by an exhibit by award-winning artist Francie Bishop Good. Next we present “Abracadabra,” for which I have not yet selected all artists. So, that presents a potential opportunity for interested artists. In March we will present a solo show by Agustina Woodgate, whose one-person show at Art Basel Miami Beach was a highlight of the main fair. We will then bring back the international sensation, LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya, for a show of all new work!

Among the other artists whose work will be featured in either the middle galleries and Focus South Florida: Project Room are Tom Cocotos, Virginia Fifield, Melissa Fredendall, Juan Erman Gonzalez, Peter Hammar, Charles LaBelle, Sarah Michelle Rupert, Kuby Nnamdie, Nina Surel and Kristen Thiele. We have also launched a new artist spotlight series called “The Landing” which will feature a range of artist working in a variety of media, including artists Samantha Brooks, Aline Crumb (wife of R. Crumb), Toni Mena, Gustavo Matamoros, Jessy Nite and Amy Wong.

R.C. - Despite the center being relatively small, it emulates any world-class institution for the quality of its cultural programs. Are there any plans for expansion? What is your overall vision for the future of the center?

J.H. - My goal is to keep building on the level of programming we have garnered acclaim for thus far and to expand upon that as much as possible. We do have some potential plans for expansion in the future and already have contributed capital towards that end. This plan is still in the early stages of development.

R.C. - Today, the curator is more than an exhibition organizer, he/she is a generator of ideas, a facilitator between the artist and the general audience. What are the challenges that you face? What would be your ideal exhibition program for the center?

J.H. - As an artist myself (working under the alias TJ Ahearn, an anagram of my name) I feel that my role as curator often manifests itself as a collaborator of sorts, encountering the logistical and creative challenges artists encounter as they present their projects. I believe that the needs and vision of the exhibiting artists are of tantamount importance and I strive to honor this position in all I do. I would like to see us incorporate a little more activity of the artists whose work I admire, working outside of South Florida. Toward that end, I am thrilled that we have a major show planned for late 2014 with acclaimed Los Angeles-based artist Dave Muller! I think it is so important to be resourceful, especially in challenging times, financially speaking. I think in spite of the limit of our funding (much less than other area institutions like MoCA, MAM/PAMM, Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale, the Norton Museum and the Bass Art Museum,) we have been fortunate to present some really outstanding programming. There is so much to look forward to. Onward and upward!

The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood is located at
 1650 Harrison St.
Hollywood, FL 33020. Hours: Tue-Fri 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sat-Sun Noon - 4 p.m. Phone: 954 921 3274 / www.artandculturecenter.org / info@artandculturecenter.org

Raisa Clavijo is the editor of ARTPULSE and ARTDISTRICTS magazines.