Reanimating Dia Chelsea with Jessica Morgan and Lucy Raven
Dia's Director opens up the newly expanded Dia Chelsea, and discusses the acclaimed new commissions conceived for the space
Dia's Director opens up the newly expanded Dia Chelsea, and discusses the acclaimed new commissions conceived for the space
This conversation has been recorded as part of Art:LIVE, an online programme created in collaboration with Deutsche Bank. Devised for audiences in a more distanced world, the content opens doors to inspiring spaces and important conversations, and offers exclusive access to artists, collectors, curators, and creatives in diverse fields.
Taking the theme of ‘Reflect, Refocus, Reset’, this edition responds to the cautious optimism of the present moment and lessons from the recent past, and includes: an intimate talk with Marina Abramovic in her NYC loft; a tour with Jessica Morgan through the expanded Dia:Chelsea, re-opening after two years of renovation, and the new site-specific commission by Lucy Raven; a conversation with jewellery designer Delfina Delettrez and artist Nico Vascellari at their home in Rome; and a reflection by architect Annabelle Selldorf on her career and practice, following her landmark collaboration with the Frick Collection on its relocation to Marcel Breuer’s former Whitney Museum.
Jessica Morgan joined Dia Art Foundation as Director in January 2015 and was named Nathalie de Gunzburg Director in October 2017. At Dia, Morgan is responsible for strengthening and activating all parts of Dia’s multivalent program, including its pioneering Land art projects, site-specific commissions, and collections and programming across its constellation of sites. Since assuming directorship, Morgan has led a series of initiatives reaffirming and reinvigorating the nonprofit’s founding vision and principles. In 2018, Morgan announced a comprehensive, multi-year campaign, that includes the upgrade, revitalization, and ongoing stewardship of its key programmatic spaces and artist sites.
Prior to assuming her position at Dia, Morgan was The Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art, at Tate Modern in London from 2010 to 2014, and was Curator at Tate from 2002 to 2010. In addition to her work on exhibitions, Morgan played a key role in the growth of Tate’s collection—driving the development of the museum’s holdings of mid-century and emerging art from North America, the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Morgan was previously Chief Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, and a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.
Morgan organized the 2020 Verbier Art Summit and served as the artistic director of the 10th Gwangju Biennale in 2014. She has published extensively in Artforum and Parkett as well as other journals and scholarly publications.
Lucy Raven was born in Tucson, Arizona, in 1977. She received a BFA in studio art and a BA in art history from the University of Arizona, Tucson, in 2000, and an MFA from Bard College’s Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 2008.
Raven has been the recipient of residencies at the Hammer Museum, University of California, Los Angeles (2011–12), and Oakland Museum of California for Oakland Standard (2012); the San Francisco Bay Area component of the Artadia Award (2013); and the Berlin Prize (2018). Her work has been exhibited in solo presentations at the Nevada Museum of Art, Reno (2010); Hammer Museum (2012); Portikus, Frankfurt (2014); Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco (2014); Centre vox de l’image contemporaine, Montreal (2015); Columbus Museum of Art (2016); and the Serpentine Gallery, London (2016–17). Select group shows include those at the SculptureCenter, New York (2007); Mass MoCA, North Adams, Massachusetts (2008–09); Wexner Center for the Arts, Ohio State University, Columbus (2010); MoMA PS1, New York (2010 and 2013); Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, Oregon (2013); the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2013); and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2018–19). Additionally, Raven’s work was included in the 2012 Whitney Biennial, the 2016 Montreal Biennial, and the 2018 Dhaka Art Summit. With Vic Brooks and Evan Calder Williams, she is a founding member of the moving image research and production collective, 13BC. Raven teaches at the Cooper Union School of Art in New York.
