Join us for an insightful conversation with Brooke A. Minto, Executive Director and CEO of the Columbus Museum of Art; Kelly Kivland, former Head of Exhibitions at the Wexner Center for the Arts and Daisy Desrosiers, David and Francie Horvitz Family Foundation Director and Chief Curator of The Gund at Kenyon College, the curators behind the groundbreaking exhibitions celebrating the work of Ming Smith – an internationally acclaimed photographer from Columbus.

In a landmark collaboration, Columbus Museum of Art, Wexner Center for the Arts, and The Gund at Kenyon College present the work of Ming Smith – the first Black woman photographer to have their work acquired by the Museum of Modern Art. This fall, each institution simultaneously presents a different series of Smith’s work, offering visitors a sweeping view of her decades-long career.

This special conversation moderated by Nicole Rome, Director of Collections and Exhibitions at Columbus Museum of Art, will explore the breadth and significance of Smith’s creative practice and the shared vision between the institutions to celebrate Smith’s artistic legacy throughout Central Ohio and beyond.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to delve into the life and legacy of a trailblazing artist whose contributions continue to shape the landscape of contemporary photography.

This program is free with registration.

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Everyone is welcome to attend virtually at no cost—simply tune in at the event time.

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Learn More About the Presenting Curators

Daisy Desrosiers is an interdisciplinary art historian and the current director and chief curator of The Gund at Kenyon College. She was previously the inaugural director of artist programs at the Lunder Institute for American Art at the Colby Museum of Art at Colby College (Maine). Past exhibitions include Theaster Gates, The Black Image Corporation at Gropius Bau (Berlin, Germany), Sympathy For the Translator presented at the ICA (MECA) (Maine, USA), No Justice Without Love, at the Ford Foundation Gallery (NYC, USA) developed in dialogue with the Art for Justice community of artists and advocates, and most recently: Christine Sun Kim, Oh Me Oh My and Ming Smith, Jazz Requiem – Notations in Blue at The Gund. She was one of the co-curator of the first Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Toronto Triennale titled GTA21 in 2021. Desrosiers was also part of the 2023 Center for Curatorial Leadership cohort. Past fellowships include Nicholas Fox Weber curatorial fellow with the Glucksman Museum in Cork (Ireland) and a curatorial fellow at Brooklyn-based nonprofit, Art in General. She is a contributor to the 2024 Prospect 6 New Orleans catalog writing on artist Joan Jonas, the 2021 New Museum Triennial publication and As We Rise (Aperture, 2021). She sits on the Board of Directors at the Art Gallery of the University College Cork, (Cork, Ireland) as well as the Program Advisory Council for Fogo Island Arts (Fogo Island, NL).

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Kelly Kivland is Director and Lead Curator of the Art Program at Michigan Central. An interdisciplinary curator and producer, her collaborative approach explores intersections of new media, ecologies, performance, and technology. Across projects, she aims to expand the reception of contemporary creative practices, support diverse interests, and encourage new models of production. Kivland began her career commissioning and producing performances in New York City before turning to curating. In her previous roles as Head of Exhibitions at the Wexner Center for the Arts (2021-2024) and Curator at Dia Art Foundation (2011-2021), she has collaborated with a wide array of artists, practitioners, and thinkers to stage investigations into the role of art in public space. At Michigan Central, she aims to collaboratively develop diverse, intergenerational programs exploring creativity, technology, and society, while deepening partnerships within Detroit and beyond. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Interarts and Technology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a master’s degree from the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College.

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Brooke A. Minto assumed the role of Executive Director and CEO of the Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) in May 2023. With a career spanning over two decades, Minto has experience working for a range of museums and interdisciplinary arts organizations in the United States and abroad.

Before joining CMA, Minto served as the inaugural executive director of the Black Trustee Alliance for Art Museums (BTA). During her time with BTA, she grew the grant-funded pilot program into a robust nonprofit membership organization equipping Black trustees with the resources to bring meaningful and lasting change to their institutions. In 2023, Minto was recognized by the American Alliance for Museums (AAM) for her work advancing diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI) in the museum field.

Previously, Minto served as a managing director of Advisory Board for the Arts and held senior leadership roles at Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, the New Museum in New York, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and Pérez Art Museum Miami. She began her career in the curatorial department of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Minto studied art history, and earned a master’s degree in modern art and critical studies from Columbia University. Her passion for the arts extends beyond her professional endeavors; she actively contributes to the field by serving on the board of advisors for the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth and the board of directors for Print Center New York.

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Ming Smith, Eddie’s Restaurant (detail), from the series August Moon, 1991. Archival pigment print. Courtesy of the artist