Culture & Art

Curating Chaos

Sure, we all love frequenting Miami’s many museums, but whose job is it to invigorate our environs with expert exhibitions? To answer that question, we tail one of our city’s finest curators at the Bass Museum of Art’s opening day
Text by Ryan Jarrell | April 17, 2018 | Culture & Art

It all started sedately enough, at the reasonable hour of 9:30 a.m. That’s when Bass Museum Of Art’s Assistant Curator Leilani Lynch and her staff began the re-opening of the Miami Beach institution. But it wouldn’t be the tense and twisted affair often associated with institutional openings, but a breathe-out, a cleansing, a chance to revel in the fruits of an effort years in the making. Joking with fellow staff members, sourcing coffee for some of the museum’s performers, briefly discussing logistics with mentor Executive Director & Chief Curator Silvia Karman Cubina, leading an in-depth tour and discussion with inquisitive members of the community…following Lynch around, one quickly realizes that that the “typical” day for a curator of one of Miami’s most coveted contemporary art museums is anything but; it’s a job that’s one part art aficionado and two parts stage manager, making sure all the moving parts are greased just enough to enliven our art-loving populace. And, like most professionals in our hastening marketplace, enjoying the present for itself is a luxury Lynch can rarely afford. “When a show’s installed, we’re already working on programs 2-3 years ahead,” says the Bay Area native who’s spent the last 6 years as an integral facet and networker in the Miami arts scene. “The whole of my job revolves around how well I can solve problems creatively.”; TheBass.org.