kirsten marie walsh

A contemporary public art collection expanding on the Anschutz Health Sciences Building’s mission to be a world-class destination for interdisciplinary and inter-professional scholarship dedicated to genomics-driven translational research, education, and personalized clinical care.

At the collection’s core is the belief that the scientific method and the creative process are two sides of the same coin. Artists in the collection will include Amy Ellingson, Laurie Frick, Katy Stone, Pace Taylor, and Derrick Velasquez.

Building design Anderson Mason Dale Architects and ZGF Architects.

2019 - 2020

A collection showcasing Platte River Power Authority’s four owner communities — Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont, and Loveland — through regional artists focused on the natural landscapes and skylines of Northern Colorado.

Platte River Power Authority new Headquarters Campus in Fort Collins // Building designed by Anderson Mason Dale Architects.

“Art has the power to stimulate and present us with new ways of seeing; but art also has the power to capture the world in place, if only temporarily. In the words of photographer William Eggleston, “Often people ask what I’m photographing, which is a hard question to answer. And the best what I’ve come up with is just to say: Life today.”

In the development of their new headquarters building and the art collection gracing its walls, Platte River Power Authority acquired nearly 30 works directly reflecting and investing in the communities they serve.

The focus of the collection is ‘life today’ in the vistas, histories and natural monuments northern Coloradans know intimately. And while the artists on the following pages choose a variety of different medium to present their message, each piece positively speaks the language of Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont, and Loveland:

Sarah Winkler draws inspiration from beneath our feet, suspending natural material collected from local sources directly into her paints; while Libby Barbee and George Kozman layer and experiment with the infamous mountain ridgelines of Grand Lake, Horsetooth Rock, and Longs Peak.

Stephanie Hartshorn paints buildings so familiar they feel like portraits of wise and beloved family members; and Seth Haldeman and Amy Hutto share a subject well-known by many locals, the great ambassadors of the plains: the Rawhide bison herd.

Turning to Main Street for inspiration, Kim English captures the precise moment when the golden light of sunrise and sunset alters the hues of recognizable buildings; while Madeline Wilson’s photographs conquer and surrender to time simultaneously.

And in a region exalted for grand, sweeping views Katie Kalkstein, Deb Komitor, and Ana Zanic pause to admire the repetition and detail in “smaller moments”; while Alyson Kinkade, Patrick Kochanasz, and James Frank take us on a familiar and winding path through the diverse landscapes of northern Colorado.

I am deeply thankful for the opportunity to work with so many exceptional artists and I’m still overwhelmed by the innovative and thoughtful approach Platte River Power Authority took with this project. They have made an extraordinary investment with this collection, becoming great stewards and caretakers of their local art community.”

View the collection catalog here.

AUGUST 11 - 27, 2017

Co-curated with Libby Barbee • Exhibition in conversation with RedLine's 3rd Annual 48 Hours Summit on Socially Engaged Art • More information at redlineart.org

ARTISTS: Ryan Feddersen, Megan Gafford, Brian House, Cannupa Hanska Luger, Daisy Patton, Becky Wareing Steele, Tory Tepp and the Rocky Mountain Land Library

PRESS FOR LAND TRUST •  "In two Denver exhibits, artist Cannupa Hanska Luger connects viewers to the ground beneath their feet" -- theknow.denverpost.com, Ray Mark Rinaldi, 8/10/2017

We live in a world of motion, speed, and consumption. People and products buzz around the globe in a state of placeless-ness, while symbols and identities fluctuate in indeterminacy. Time is expressed in dollar signs and milliseconds, and our landscape constitutes little more in our imaginations than a series of ghostly forms whizzing past our vehicle windows.

Below the clamor and dust of all that speed lies an unspoken faith that if we can just keep moving, keep our feet in the air long enough, we can avoid facing the imminent environmental catastrophe that lingers just around the corner. But, alas, everything that goes up must come down. Back down to earth – the reality of that nurturing, volatile, and inextricable relationship with the environment – we must come, either by choice or by calamity.

LAND TRUST is an attempt to slow down and get our feet back on solid ground, to explore the cultural practices that connect us physically and spiritually to the world, and to look squarely at the human effects of environmental change. From urban agriculture to utopian aspirations, and environmentally initiated displacement to artistic approaches to protecting resources, LAND TRUST is an exploration of the multifarious connections between people and the living landscape.

Project and Program Curator
Light City 2017, March 31 - April 8, Baltimore, Maryland
Collaboration between Jann Rosen-Queralt, Marian Ochoa and Kirsten Walsh

PRESS AND RESOURCES FOR ARGO
Curatorial Inspirations - PDF
Baltimore Magazine's "What Not to Miss"
Baltimore Fishbowl, "Photo Preview"
Southwest Airlines Magazine, "Light City 2017"
MEDIUM, MICA at Light City

An immersive installation, ARGO underscores the profound influence of water. Light and water share emotional and physical properties: both provide life or hope, and instill fear or trust. The Greek myth of Argo serves as the inspiration; reminiscent of a boat’s hull. ARGO addresses events formed by water, and how Baltimore’s water systems are precariously changing. Programming, with support from the Maryland Science Center, includes interactive performances, and workshops focusing on light's characteristics.

Programming included workshops on the physics of light and water by artists Marian Ochoa, and a night of performances highlight and celebrating the influence of water. Performers included: 

• Valeska Populoh, artist and MICA faculty, will host small groups of visitors for interactive performances inspired by the natural history of the Chesapeake Bay and contemporary issues facing the estuary.

• In an exciting new collaboration, noted folk singer Marca Cassity (Osage Nation), and storyteller and singer Joseph Standswithmany (Keetoowah Cherokee), will perform a blend of traditional and contemporary musical works focusing on advocacy, heritage and resilience.

• Anna K. Crooks, artist and writer living in Baltimore, MD, was named Baltimore City Papers Best Poet 2015 and her chapbook "Walking Thru Mist" was named one of the Top Ten Baltimore Books of 2016. Her writing explores themes of relationships, nature, fire, water and the slippery qualities of language, taking cues from classical music and the YouTube phenomenon ASMR.

In its second year, Light City transforms Baltimore's Inner Harbor and critical neighborhoods with world class light displays and sculptures, video projections on buildings and interactive technologies to create once-in-a-lifetime experiences for families, residents and visitors.

Curator and Narrator
podcastsonprocess.com

Podcasts on Process examines the creative process of artists and considers what tools they use to create their innovative work. This inaugural series explores choreographer Liz Lerman’s creative process. 

Podcasts on Process identifies tools from the choreographer’s practice and explores how these tools are used to address questions around contemporary artistic practice, audience, multidisciplinary collaboration, and performance.

Listeners are encouraged to not only tune in regularly but also interact on an episode-by-episode basis. And contribute your voice but responding to each episode's creative challenge! The first episode will dive into Lerman’s body of work to familiarize listeners with her approach to choreography and research. Then Podcasts on Process will examine four of Lerman’s tools: collaboration, who gets to dance and make, documentation and critique. 

Original music for Podcasts on Process was composed by Ruby Fulton and performed by the Nudie Suits. Estelle Kline and Sean Tubbs were the masterful sound engineers for the series. At the lunch party on May 17, 2015 the Nudie Suits performed live at Area 405 in Baltimore, MD. 

Graduate Teaching Intern
February 6 - March 15, 2015
Decker Gallery, Fox Building
Maryland Institute College of Art
http://handmade2015.com/

The Exhibition Development Seminar (EDS) class is partnering with Jenny Carson, the chair of the Art History, Theory, and Criticism department at MICA, and The Walters Art Museum to create parallel shows centered on William Henry Rinehart and the notions of authorship in the fine arts world. Carson’s show at The Walters will discuss Rinehart’s studio practice in Baltimore and his use of studio assistants – a common practice throughout history that contradicts the popular notion of the lone artist working directly on a block of marble. HAND / MADE, the EDS show to be exhibited in Decker Gallery, addresses the contemporary side of authorship.

The Exhibition Development Seminar (EDS) is a year-long course in which the students mount a major exhibition in Baltimore. To simulate the structure of institutional practices, the students are broken into smaller teams to handle different aspects of the production of creating an exhibition. Worked as Graduate Teaching Intern managed 2-week long exhibition installation, handled class grading for readings, and co-facilitated course discussion.

Co-curator/Researcher

Download Final Presentation PDF

MICA Social Design along with additional graduate programs, and in partnership with Southwest Partnership and Gensler Architects, collaboratively researched Baltimore’s Hollins Market on-site. As students we asked: how might we activate Hollins Market to engage the community in a shared social space, with hyper local makers, vendors and businesses from within market and in boundaries of the neighborhood.

Final products include visual identity and community identified business as “local gems”.

The "Southwest Partnership Social Design" course included two students from the MFA in Social Design program, the MFA in Graphic Design Program and the MFA in Curatorial Practice program. 

Co-curator
September 2 - 21, 2014
Sheila + Richard Riggs and Leidy Galleries
Maryland Institute College of Art

Exhibition Website
Exhibition Catalogue
 

LOCALLY SOURCED, curated by MICA’s MFA in Curatorial Practice ’15, explores how exchanges between local artists and their neighbors help a community thrive. For the exhibition, five artists based in central Baltimore’s Station North. Artists in LOCALLY SOURCED included Paula Whaley, NETHER, Aaron Henkin, Wendel Patrick and Jason Hoylman.

Co-curator—As a team member collaborated on the broad exhibition design, formulating communications and catalog content, partnered with artist NETHER for gallery installation, development and facilitated the budget, and successfully managed and received an Office of Community Engagement Grant and a Baltimore Community Fund Grant -- combined total of $5,000.

All photographs taken by Xiaotian Yang, copyright 2014

Curator
April - June 2014
Lazarus IV Center
Maryland Institute College of Art

Curator: Kirsten (Poulsen-House) Walsh
Graphic Designer: Amanda Buck

The Museum of Craigslist explores the values of collecting, acquiring, and networking through the universal, online platform of Craigslist. The Museum focuses on objects, their accompanying narratives, and how human interactions are transforming. Our programming and exhibitions are dedicated to amateur and academic sociologists, makers, and historians around the world. For all exhibitions, we use the term “Listed” to indicate when it is on view. Exhibitions include objects and representations of objects on Craigslist.

Imaginary Museums was a project developed as a collaboration between MICA's MFA in Graphic Design and MFA in Curatorial Practice program under instruction from faculty Ellen Lupton and Marcus Civin. Graphic Designer Amanda Buck -- amandabuck.com

Final Branding Presentation by Amanda Buck
Museums and the Web Presentation by Kirsten (Poulsen-House) Walsh

B is for Baltimore
Co-curator
December 5 - 15, 2013
D center Baltimore, W. North Avenue

Exhibition Website

b is for Baltimore brings the characteristic creative energy of the 2013 Baker Artist Awards b-grant prize winners to the heart of Charm City. The awards honored 9 emerging and established artists who embody the quality, diversity, and creative spirit of the greater Baltimore area’s art scene.

Through choreography, dance, installation, music, poetry, video, or writing, each artist brings a novel complexity to the tradition of his or her medium. Showcasing these artists together gives Baltimoreans the opportunity to celebrate and explore the vitality of their talented and engaging artistic community. The 2013 b-grant winners: Leah Cooper, Ruby Fulton, Todd Marcus, Nicole Martinell, Katherine McCord, Jenny O'Grady, CJay Phillip, and Robby Rackleff. 

Curator and Lead Project Manager—As a team member collaborated on the full exhibition design, developed and facilitated budget, main administrative duties, developed and managed programming, and worked directly with artists Leah Cooper and Katherine McCord on content development and installation. 

All photographs taken by Xiaotian Yang, copyright 2013