Mari Spirito
Mari Spirito | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Massachusetts College of Art and Design |
| Occupation | Curator |
| Known for | Founding director of Protocinema |
| Website | protocinema.org |
Mari Spirito is an American curator based in Istanbul and New York City. She is the founding director of Protocinema, a non-profit arts organization that presents site-aware exhibitions internationally, including in Istanbul, New York, Tbilisi, Paris, Seoul, New Delhi, Moscow, Basel, and Lima.[1]
Career
[edit]Spirito received her BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Early in her career, she co-founded a gallery in New York and worked at 303 Gallery, where she was a director from 2000 to 2012.[2]
In 2011, she established Protocinema, which presents contemporary art in diverse, often unconventional spaces. The organization's exhibitions aim to foster cross-cultural dialogue and contextual sensitivity.[3]
The name 'Protocinema' was inspired by a concept from Werner Herzog's documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams regarding early human efforts to depict motion through art. According to Spirito, Protocinema engages with questions of representation, communication, and perception.[4]
Spirito has curated and advised on various international art programs. In 2012, she was an advisor to the second Mardin Biennial in Turkey.[5] In 2014, she guest-curated for Artspace Sydney, focusing on contemporary Turkish art.[6]
From 2014 to 2018, Spirito programmed Art Basel's 'Conversations' in Basel and Miami Beach, a series of panel discussions featuring artists, curators, and cultural figures.[7]
She served as director of Alt Art Space in Istanbul from 2015 to 2017, curating exhibitions and public programs including the Turkish premiere of Rodney Graham and a group exhibition featuring Aykan Safoğlu, Hasan Özgür Top, and Hera Büyüktaşçıyan.[8]
Spirito launched Protocinema’s Emerging Curator Series in 2015, hosting year-long exhibitions and mentorship programs at 5533 in Istanbul.
She was part of the International Advisory Committee for the inaugural High Line Plinth Commissions in New York in 2017.[9]
Spirito has served as an associate curator for the Onassis Cultural Center, where she curated Nature of Justice (2018), a visual arts response to Aristophanes’ play The Birds, co-produced with St. Ann's Warehouse.[10]
She has participated in curatorial training and research programs, including ICI’s Curatorial Intensive in Bangkok and was awarded the 2012 SAHA Research Award for the project Ancient Works / Asar-ı Atika.[11]
Spirito served as a jury member for the 2018 Beirut Art Residency and curated Under (2018), a public commission by Hale Tenger launched during Dubai Art Week.[12]
She is Vice President of the Board at Participant Gallery in New York,[13] serves on the advisory board of Collectorspace in Istanbul,[14] and was a former board member of the New Art Dealers Alliance.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ "How the Great Recession Prompted Curator Mari Spirito to Found a Global Art Organization". Artnet News. October 14, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
- ^ "Mari Spirito". Independent Curators International. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
- ^ "Protocinema Founder Mari Spirito on the Manifold Challenges Facing Istanbul's Art Scene". Artspace. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ "A Conversation with Mari Spirito, Founder of Protocinema". My Art Guides. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ "2nd Mardin Biennial". Frieze. Archived from the original on October 16, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ "Inside, Outside & in Parallel". Artspace Sydney. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ "Mari Spirito on Art Basel's Conversations Program". Art Basel. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ "Mari Spirito". Independent Curators International. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
- ^ "High Line Plinth Proposals". High Line. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ "Nature of Justice". Onassis Foundation USA. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ "2012 Research Award Recipients". Independent Curators International. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ "About the Residency". Beirut Art Residency. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ "Participant Inc – Information". Participant Inc. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ "Collectorspace". Collectorspace. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ "New Art Dealers Alliance". NADA. Archived from the original on July 1, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2025.