December 16, 2020
Amie Potsic interviews Erica Battle, the John Alchin and Hal Marryatt Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Battle discusses her perspective on the changing role of the museum curator, efforts to make the PMA’s collection and exhibitions more inclusive, and her projects that emphasize collaboration and shared authorship.
Installation image of Rachel Rose: Wil-o-Wisp/The Future Fields Commission (May 2, 2018 – September 16, 2018) at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Photograph by Tim Tiebout, courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Installation image of artworks by Nick Cave on view in Ghosts and Fragments at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Gallery 270). Photograph by Tim Tiebout, courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Installation image of Untitled (I’m Turning Into a Specter before Your Very Eyes and I’m Going to Haunt You), 1992, by Glenn Ligon in Ghosts and Fragments at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Photograph by Tim Tiebout, courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Installation image of Ghosts and Fragments at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Gallery 270). Photograph by Tim Tiebout, courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Installation image of Pant, 2018, by Tschabalala Self on view in Present Tense: Recent Gifts of Contemporary Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Photograph by Joseph Hu, courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Erica Battle is the the John Alchin and Hal Marryatt Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Battle’s curatorial work focuses on artistic production from the neo avant-garde until today, particularly rooted in global art histories, the intersections of sound and performance with traditional media, and the function of contemporary art within encyclopedic museums. Before obtaining her masters of art degree at Bard College's Center for Curatorial Studies, Battle worked and interned at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Participant, Inc., Independent Curators International, Hollis Taggart Galleries, and Art + Auction Magazine. Recent projects at the PMA have included the exhibitions Rachel Rose, the inaugural Future Field Commission, Dancing Around the Bride, International Pop, and Ghosts and Fragments featuring Nick Cave. She also worked on Bruce Nauman: Topological Gardens, the official U.S. entry to the 53rd Venice Biennial, which won the award for Best National Participation in 2009.
For more information on the Philadelphia Museum of Art, visit: https://philamuseum.org/