For Immediate Release
Contact: Amy Day
Tel: 515.271.0344 (o)
515.612.0775 (m)
aday@desmoinesartcenter.org
DES MOINES, IA (September 2024) – The Des Moines Art Center is excited to announce that Ashton Cooper will be joining the curatorial team as Associate Curator beginning in October.
A recent graduate of the Ph.D. program at the University of Southern California, Cooper has been a curatorial assistant and Luce Curatorial Fellow at the Hammer Museum at UCLA in Los Angeles since 2022 where her exhibition “Jennifer Bolande, Mona Hatoum, Alison Saar” will open in January 2025. Prior to that, she worked at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and the Getty Research Institute. Cooper is also an accomplished art critic who has contributed writing to “Artforum” ArtReview”, “Mousse”, and “Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles (CARLA)”, among other publications.
Specializing in modern and contemporary art, Cooper’s curatorial practice is committed to queer, feminist, and anti-racist approaches to art historical thinking. She has focused particular attention to underrecognized artists. Cooper’s work with print collections, innovative museum programming, and large group shows, including the 2023 edition of the Hammer Museum’s “Made in L.A.” biennial, will strengthen and broaden the focus of the Art Center’s curatorial team.
Cooper has organized ten solo and group exhibitions in non-profit and gallery spaces in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Vienna. Recent writing projects include catalogue essays on Catherine Opie for the 2024 exhibition “Genre/Gender/Portraiture” at the Museum of Art in São Paulo (MASP) and on the groundbreaking feminist artist Renate Bertlmann for her 2023 retrospective “Fragile Obsessions” at Belvedere 21 in Vienna.
“Ashton’s experience and perspective will bring not only exciting new exhibitions but a new way of looking at our collections. We are thrilled to welcome her to the museum and our community,” said Senior Curator Laura Burkhalter who was instrumental in recruiting Cooper for the position.
Last month, Cooper, together with curator Pablo José Ramírez, was awarded a prestigious grant from the Teiger Foundation to support “Several Eternities in a Day.” The exhibition is the first major show to focus on brownness, spirituality, and contemporary art at the Hammer Museum. Cooper and Ramírez were among 50 curators selected by the Teiger Foundation to receive a total of $3.93 million in grant dollars.
“I am so excited to join the team at the Des Moines Art Center. I look forward to the opportunity to curate contemporary art within the context of the museum’s dynamic collections. I admire the Art Center’s emphasis on idea-driven shows and long-standing dedication to diversifying the collections and programming. I look forward to continuing my commitment to giving rigorous scholarly attention to underrecognized artists at the Art Center,” said Cooper.
For more information, contact Senior Director of Communications and Marketing Amy Day at 515-271-0344 or aday@desmoinesartcenter.org.
Image photo credit: Sadie Spezzano
About the Des Moines Art Center
The Des Moines Art Center is a vibrant, AAM-accredited (American Association of Museums) institution located in the capital city of Iowa that welcomes over 300,000 visitors annually from across the country and around the globe. Its historic campus consists of three buildings designed by major architects of the 20th century—Eliel Saarinen, I. M. Pei, and Richard Meier—incorporated into the natural landscape of Greenwood Park. The Art Center is home to one of the strongest collections of 20th- and 21st-century art in the region, and it hosts a series of ground-breaking exhibitions and lectures each year featuring artists known regionally, nationally, and internationally. The experimental art for which the Art Center cares is reflected in its creative offerings, including a celebrated education program that prioritizes access and collaboration, an art school with studio classes for all ages, and the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park, situated on 4.4 acres in downtown Des Moines. The Art Center is committed to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which are incorporated into every facet of its mission and identity.
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