Shamim Momin

As one of the country’s leading contemporary art curators, Shamim M. Momin opens up about her path to curating, and also shares her insights on mounting exhibitions of site-specific works, how biennial exhibitors are are selected, and the recent market pressure on museums and non-profits.

“I think that museums are much more conservative of late… I feel like in curatorial work it used to be understood that you try and fail –that is was ok to have an idea, feel like something is happening though not know exactly how to articulate it, and work it out through the curating process.”

Shamim M. Momin is the Director, Curator, and co-Founder of the nonprofit organization, LAND (Los Angeles Nomadic Division), which curates site-specific contemporary art projects in Los Angeles and throughout the country. Previously, Momin was Associate Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, where she co-curated both the 2004 and 2008 Whitney Biennial exhibitions, as well as numerous solo exhibitions. In 2007 and 2008, Momin was Adjunct Professor of Contemporary Art for Williams College’s New York program, and she was recently presented with ArtTable’s New Leadership Award. Some of her latest projects include “Perpetual Conceptual: Echoes of Eugenia Butler” as part of “Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980”; “Nothing Beside Remains,” a multi-site, multi-artist exhibition in Marfa, Texas; and the “IN/SITU” program at 2013’s EXPO Chicago art fair.