Kari Conte

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Kari Conte is an American curator and writer focused on global contemporary art. She is the executive director and co-curator of the inaugural Medina Triennial, which is scheduled to open in the summer of 2026 in Medina, New York. [1] [2] She is also a Senior Advisor at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York. She previously served as ISCP’s Director of Programs and Exhibitions from 2010 to 2020. She is the Residency Curator at Kai Art Center in Tallinn and a consulting curator with City as Living Laboratory (CALL) in New York. Conte co-founded the working group Rethinking Residencies and was a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar in Istanbul in 2021–2022. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Early life, education and career

Conte was born and grew up in New York City. She earned an MA in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art in 2009. Before joining ISCP, she lived in London and worked at Whitechapel Gallery. [7]

Conte joined ISCP in 2010 and led its residencies, exhibitions, and public programs for a decade. She later became Senior Advisor. [8] She is Residency Curator at Kai Art Center in Estonia. [9] She serves as a consulting curator with City as Living Laboratory (CALL). [10] Conte co-founded Rethinking Residencies, a working group of New York–based residency programs established in 2014. [11] She has advised biennials and curated projects internationally, including work with the Aichi Triennale and Performa, and served as an advisor to the 2020/2021 Helsinki Biennial. [12]

In 2024, Conte was named executive director and co-curator of the first Medina Triennial, an international contemporary art exhibition, located in Medina, along the historic Erie Canal in Western New York scheduled to launch in 2026. [13] [14]

Curatorial work

She has curated more than forty exhibitions. These include solo presentations by:

She has also organized research-based group exhibitions:

In addition, she has curated projects for the Aichi Triennale [26] and the Performa Biennial [27] , and served as Advisor to the Helsinki Biennale. [28]

Publications and writing

She regularly contributes to books, exhibition catalogues, and magazines. As a writer, she is interested in the intersection of art, politics, ecology, and feminism, as well as institutional and exhibition histories.

Her publications include:

Teaching

Conte is part-time faculty at Parsons School of Design, The New School, where she has taught in Art and Design History and Theory. [36]

Fellowships and recognition

Conte was a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar in Istanbul in 2021–2022. [37]

She is a 2014 alum of the Getty Leadership Institute (GLI). [38]

Personal life

Conte lives and works between New York City and Yalikavak, Turkey. [39]

Selected bibliography

See also

References

  1. "There's a New Art Triennial Coming to Western New York, With a Focus on Maintenance and Community". Artnet News. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  2. "Medina Triennial – Official Website" . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  3. "ISCP People: Kari Conte". International Studio & Curatorial Program. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  4. "Residency Curator – Kari Conte". Kai Art Center. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  5. "City as Living Laboratory: Team" . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  6. "About Rethinking Residencies" . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  7. "Independent Curators International: Kari Conte" . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  8. "ISCP People: Kari Conte". International Studio & Curatorial Program. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  9. "Residency Curator – Kari Conte". Kai Art Center. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  10. "City as Living Laboratory: Team" . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  11. "About Rethinking Residencies" . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  12. "Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center: Kari Conte" . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  13. "There's a New Art Triennial Coming to Western New York, With a Focus on Maintenance and Community". Artnet News. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  14. "Medina Triennial – Official Website" . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  15. "Fatma Bucak: While the Dust Quickly Falls". Kunsthaus Dresden. 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  16. "Alban Muja: Family Album". ISCP. 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  17. "Sonia Leimer: Via San Gennaro". Mousse Publishing. 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  18. "Chiara Fumai: Less Light". ISCP. 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  19. "Hikaru Fujii at ISCP". Artforum. 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  20. "Jennifer Tee: Ether Plane/Material Plane". ISCP. 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  21. "Eva Kot'átková: Error". Michigan Quarterly Review. 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  22. "Richard Ibghy & Marilou Lemmens at ISCP". Artforum. 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  23. "Concrete Truth: Art and the Documentary". ISCP. 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  24. "The Animal Mirror". ISCP. 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  25. "Artistic Encounters With Our Toxic Waters". Hyperallergic. February 24, 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  26. "Aichi Triennale 2013" . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  27. "Performa Biennial" . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  28. "Helsinki Biennale" . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  29. "Seven Work Ballets". Sternberg Press. 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  30. "In the Spirit of Chiara Fumai". Metropolis M. 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  31. "Ezgi Erol". Unlimited Rag. 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  32. "Stutters, Dominique Hurth". Printed Matter. 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  33. "Curatorial Residencies: Saying yes to who or what turns up". Goethe-Institut, Ludlow 38. 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  34. "Localizing the Contemporary: The Kunsthalle Bern Model". JRP. 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  35. "Socially Engaged Art: History, Theory, Practice". Film Art Inc. 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  36. "The New School: Kari Conte" . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  37. "Fulbright Senior Research Scholars List" . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  38. "ISCP People: Kari Conte". International Studio & Curatorial Program. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  39. "Independent Curators International: Kari Conte" . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  40. Conte, Kari (2015). Mierle Laderman Ukeles: Seven Work Ballets. Sternberg Press. ISBN   978-3-943365-93-1.
  41. Kari Conte; Susan Hapgood, eds. (2023). Bringing Worlds Together: A Rethinking Residencies Reader. Rethinking Residencies.
  42. "ISCP Exhibition: Aqueous Earth" . Retrieved 19 August 2025.