Curatorial Initiative Curators for 2006

Hystoria : Jim Mahoney working with Lisa McCarty: March 3-March 26, 2006

Jim Mahoney has been an independent curator for over twenty years. He is currently the Washington Corresponding Editor for Art in America and a contributing editor for the New Art Examiner and he is a professor in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Maryland . He has curated shows at 57 N, the Millenium Arts Center , Govinda Gallery, the University of Maryland and many other galleries and art spaces in the District and around the country.

Lisa McCarty graduated in May 2005 with a Bachelors of Fine Arts from George Mason University . She is a practicing artist and has been an intern at the McLean Project for the Arts and a library assistant at the Smithsonian American Art Museum .

From Sea to Shining Sea: Ori Soltes working with Cara Ober: March 31-April 23, 2006

Ori Soltes is a Goldman Professorial Lecturer, Georgetown University , and Director and curator of the National Jewish Museum in Washington , D.C. He is the author of the following books: Fixing the World: Jewish American Painters in the Twentieth Century, Symbols of Faith: Visual Art in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim Traditions, Rainbows in the Ashes: Essays on the Arts and the Holocaust.

Cara Ober completed her MFA at the Maryland Art Institute in summer 2005. She has exhibited her work in DC, VA and Baltimore and has written articles for Art Papers Magazine, the Baltimore City Paper, and Radar Review. She has curated shows at Goucher College and at the G-Spot Audio-Visual Playground in Baltimore .

Space of Change : Margaret Boozer, Claire Huschle working with Anne Weber Surak: Sept. 8- Oct. 8, 2006

Margaret Boozer is an active member of the board of the Washington Sculptors Group. She taught for ten years at the Corcoran College of Art and Design before founding Red Dirt Studio, where she directs a ceramics and sculpture seminar. The seminars are small groups of multi-generational, self-directed ceramists and sculptors who participate in a collective work/critique environment at Boozer's warehouse studio. Her goal is to address the critical, technical and business concerns of emerging artists seeking to become more professional in their practice.

Claire Huschel is Executive Director of the Arlington Arts. Prior to joining the staff of the AAC, Ms. Huschle was the Director of Target Gallery, and the Community Liais for the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria , VA. In the late 90s, Ms. Huschle served as managing curator of Duncan & Miller Gallery in Washington , D.C. , a contemporary art space featuring the work of emerging artists. In addition to her work in arts administration, Ms. Huschle has curated and juried numerous exhibitions throughout the Washington , D.C. area. Ms. Huschle is a frequent speaker in gallery settings about contemporary art and often appears on panels for professional development at various universities.

Anne Weber Surak is the gallery manager/assistant curator at the Zenith Gallery. She “would like to work collaboratively with experienced curators in the Washington area and would also like to provide a platform for the many talented young artists that live in around DC.”