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Chana Budgazad Sheldon: Executive Director of Miami’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)

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Chana Budgazad Sheldon: Executive Director of Miami’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)



Introduction to Chana Budgazad Sheldon.  1:06 min.  Interview:  Raymond Elman.  Music:  Tafari Ferguson.  Production:  Corina Adrianza.  Editing:  Miguel Anyelo.  Recorded:  4/24/2018, Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami.

 

CHANA BUDGAZAD SHELDON became the executive director of the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami (“MOCA”) in January, 2018.  Sheldon grew up in New York City, and art has been an important part of her life since she was a little girl, thanks to her mother, who frequently took her to the Museum of Modern Art (“MOMA”).

Sheldon began her studies at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and later attended a small art school in Maidstone, England called Kent Institute of Art Design.  Her first job out of college was at the Casey Kaplan Gallery in the Meat Packing District of New York City, a gallery for emerging and mid-career artists. The gallery moved to the Chelsea area, and after seven years, Sheldon was promoted to director. In 2009,
Sheldon moved with her husband to Miami, and became director of Locust Projects.  Founded by artists for artists in 1998, Locust Projects is Miami’s longest running nonprofit alternative art space.

The videos below are organized by topic and run between 30 seconds and 5 minutes.Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

 

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES: 0:27 sec.




Where did you grow up and what’s your earliest memory of art of any discipline?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 0:33 sec.




Do you remember when you started to feel passionate about art, and when you thought you might make a career in art?

 

COLLABORATION:  0:42 sec.




Where did you go to school and what did you learn in school that is still informing or impacting your thinking today?

 

UNDERSTANDS THE BUSINESS OF ART:  1:42 min.




Can you give us a description of the evolution of your career in the arts?

 

PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS:  0:44 sec.




Is the Casey Kaplan Gallery a photography gallery?

 

SERENDIPITY:  0:37 sec.




What were you thinking when you made the move to Miami?

 

UNDERSTANDS ARTISTS’ NEEDS: 2:27 min.




Describe Locust Projects and how it evolved when you were the director.

 

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES:  0:30 sec.




What process did you go through to secure your current position at MOCA?

 

STRONG DRIVE FOR ACHIEVEMENT:  3:08 min.




Describe the evolution of MOCA and its place in the North Miami community.

 

COLLABORATION:  0:51 sec.




Do you know most of the other museum directors in Miami and collaborate with them?

 

COMMUNITY VALUES:  1:16 min.




How do you cultivate people to become participants on the MOCA board or enthusiastic supporters of the organization?

 

CREATIVE FLEXIBILITY:  1:23 min.




What is your curatorial strategy? Are the curators South Florida based? Describe the Lionel Smit exhibition and how it came about.

 

OPEN TO CHANGE, FLEXIBILITY:  0:35 sec.




What do you know now about running arts organizations that you wish you knew when you first started?

 

COMMUNITY VALUES:  1:17 min.




What are your thoughts about Miami’s position in the art world, both nationally and globally?

 

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES:  0:48 sec.




What does Miami need to do to attract and retain serious artists?

 

COLLABORATION:  1:35 min.




Do you see Miami artists of different disciplines — writers, performers, visual artists — attending each other’s events, collaborating, and generally being cross-discipline supportive?

 

DEVELOP A VOICE:  0:55 sec.




Do you want to have an in-house curatorial staff at MOCA?

 

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED:  0:41 sec.




What are some of your biggest challenges?