CURATOR IN RESIDENCY
Curator in Residency Dates
October 2026 - March 2027
Exhibition Run Dates
March 25, 2027 - June 24, 2027
This residency program, in its inaugural year, supports a youth curator in planning a 3 month exhibition from conception to execution with mentorship from Essence Harden, the prominent curator, arts writer, and academic, known most recently for their curation work for EXPO Chicago, the Focus section for Frieze LA, and the Hammer Museum’s biennial “Made in LA”.
The resident receives a $2500 stipend and a separate budget for exhibiting youth artist fees, further platforming 7-10 BIPOC youth artists.
The residency is open to BIPOC curators ages 18 to 25 based in L.A. County. Applicants submit a 100-200 word exhibition proposal and 3-5 artists they hope to work with. Proposals are reviewed by a jury of curators and arts leaders, including the residency's mentor, with selection based on curatorial vision, conceptual strength, and feasibility.
2026 Jurors
Essence Harden
Senior Curator, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA)
Kristin Juarez, PhD
Manager of Collections, California African American Museum (CAAM)
Nicole Shostak-Sabourian
Co-Founder and Artistic Director, Sovern LA
2026OUR 2026 CURATOR IN RESIDENCE
As an emerging museum professional and academic whose educational background spans museum curation, archival research, ethnography, and cultural studies, my work is primarily concerned with issues of art and representation for underserved communities.
Nina Fandino Schmidt
ESSENCE HARDEN
MENTOR
Essence Harden is Senior Curator at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Curator of EXPO CHICAGO’s Profile section. Harden co-curated Made in L.A. 2025 at the Hammer Museum and curated the Focus section of Frieze Los Angeles from 2024 to 2026. Harden has organized exhibitions at the California African American Museum, Orange County Museum of Art, Art + Practice, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, the Museum of the African Diaspora, and the Oakland Museum of California, among others. Harden’s writing has appeared in Frieze, Gagosian Quarterly, The Los Angeles Times Magazine: Image, Art21, Artsy, Cultured, and numerous exhibition catalogs.