Next week, Kate Krakzon will begin her new job as chief curator of the Montclair Art Museum. Founded in 1914, the New Jersey Foundation was one of the first in the country to organize itself around American art, a field of study that now offers many opportunities. Krakzon, who arrives from the David Winton Bell Gallery at Brown University, takes over the position held by Jill Stavitsky since 1994, joining new director Todd Casey in a major moment of transition for the museum. We caught up with her to hear about her plans for the next chapter.
Congratulations on the new job. What interested you most about this role when you first heard about it?
In addition to its impressive collection and history of exhibitions, MAM has a loyal audience and is an industry leader in accessibility and educational programming. I also liked the unique history of the Montclair Museum School of Art (Yard School of Art), which merged with MAM in 1999, and how provocative that could be for both curators and artists.
You will succeed Jill Stavitsky, who has served as chief curator since 1994. What is it like stepping into a role shaped by someone for three decades?
Gale has put together a strong collection and history of exhibitions that I hope to build on, and a program and acquisitions strategy that is inspired by and honors this history. I have always liked the idea of revisiting thematic exhibitions and curatorial proposals decades later as a generative form of exhibition making and a way to expand the museum’s unique curatorial and scholarly heritage.
You’ll be working closely with new director Todd Casey, and you’ve said his vision aligns with yours. What are some of the dynamics of that partnership that you want to establish in these first months?
Todd and I share a really fun approach to what we do. We simply love spending time with artists, and with people who love artists too, and want to share their passion for the arts with as wide an audience as possible. Serving as the Museum’s new chief curator is a moment to think radically and ambitiously about how your exhibition program lives within the already thriving institutional ecosystem at MAM and the arts ecosystems of northern New Jersey and the broader region. I think Todd similarly feels that this moment is an opportunity to envision the future of MAM.
Your appointment announcement describes your practice as “highly collaborative”, as seen in your ambitious commissions, such as Alex da Corte and Jayson Musson. Eastern sports (2014) at ICA Philadelphia. Can you tell me more about this project? What do you enjoy about working with living artists?
Eastern sports It was an example of how a curator can amplify the strengths of an artist’s practice, especially strengths that may not be object-based (and therefore market-friendly). I loved Jason’s writing and Alex’s videos, and I knew they wanted to collaborate. What contemporary museum commissions allow are spaces for artists to experiment without the pressures of sales. The majority of the projects I’ve been assigned have been long-term conversations over time. Elizabeth Sobrin and I started a conversation about what would happen in the end It takes listening (2023) nearly a decade before the installation opened at The Bell.
Founded in 1914 as one of the first American museums to focus on American art, Montclair has built a significant collection of early Native American works. Works by Geoffrey Gibson, Wendy Red Starr and Edgar Heap of Birds alongside John Singleton Copley, Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent. How does a contemporary, artist-focused curator like you approach a collection of this kind of scope? Are you looking to create dialogues there?
definitely! MAM had a curator of Native American art – the wonderful Laura Allen – dedicated to indigenous and indigenous works in the collection, as well as commissioning new art projects and curating exhibitions, which was an important factor in my decision to join the museum. I look forward to developing a program alongside Laura that focuses on Indigenous and indigenous practices while allowing tensions within the historical group to respond to our contemporary moment.
At ICA Philadelphia, I organized the first major retrospective of Ray Morton in the United States in more than three decades. Was it a pleasure to bring an artist like this back into the spotlight? Would you like to handle similar projects in Montclair?
As someone who often focuses on the platform of under-recognized artists, most recently surveying Bay Area octogenarian Franklin Williams, projects like the Morton retrospective make sense in honoring the artist and in bringing that work to a broader audience. Gallery size has been a limitation at Brown University, and I am pleased to be able to develop survey and retrospective exhibitions with a spacious gallery space. I’ve actually had conversations about key development retrospectives with curators who work similarly!
You were a founding board member of artist-run spaces like RAIR in Philadelphia and FR MOCA in Fall River. What lessons have you learned from your experiences with these organizations that you might bring to a larger organization?
Working directly with artists to establish an arts organization, whether it be a residency program like RAIR or a gallery and educational space like FR MOCA, has been transformative for me. It provides access to, and understanding of, what artists need, value when they are able to prioritize, and unsettles your understanding of how museums and major arts institutions can best support artists.
At The Bell, I have built collaborations with international institutions such as Performa, Nottingham Contemporary and MACBA in Barcelona. Do you intend to pioneer similar collaborations in Montclair?
definitely! The Bell was a true Kunsthal program in spirit and scale: there was just over 3,000 square feet of exhibition space. The MAM showrooms are significantly larger and very beautiful in proportion, with high ceilings and excellent architectural flow. This will allow me to organize and collaborate on much larger exhibitions than I was able to at Brown, as well as bring touring exhibitions curated by other museums to the New York metro area that otherwise would not have found a home on the East Coast or even within the United States.
Final question: pork roll or taylor pork?
Scrabble! I grew up in Pittsburgh but have spent more of my adult life in Philadelphia than any other city. The one aspect of Philadelphia culture I refuse to embrace is the Flyers. Let’s go pens.
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