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UChicago Logan Center Names Nigerian Curator
Yesomi Umolu, Nigerian Visual Arts specialist has been appointed the Logan Center Exhibitions Curator at the University of Chicago. The University said in a July 13 release that Umolu was appointed after an international search. She assumes office August 3 and “will oversee exhibitions in the Logan Center Gallery and other spaces throughout the multidisciplinary arts building.”
She is also expected to “work closely with students and faculty in the Departments of Visual Art and Art History as well as colleagues from across the University and the city to develop innovative programs,” the University said.
Bill Michel, executive director of the Logan Center said the center found in Umolu the curator who will “advance the adventurous, collaborative and inquisitive approach that has characterized Logan Center Exhibitions since its founding.”
Also praising her appointment, Jessica Stockholder, Raymond W. and Martha Hilpert Gruner Distinguished Service Professor and chair of the Department of Visual Arts, said Umolu's “...experiences and interests are international in scope; and her passion for the visual arts will contribute to the lively culture of the arts here on campus.”
While reacting to the appointment Umolu said she looked forward to the exciting work and “thrilled at the prospect of collaborating with artists, scholars and community members who contribute so greatly to the Logan Center's vibrant presence on campus and in the broader South Side cultural corridor.”
Yesomi Umolu was assistant curator atEli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, before her appointment at Logan. She was, before then, a Curatorial Fellow for Visual Arts at Minneapolis' Walker Art Center and had held positions at the European Contemporary Art Manifesta 8, Spain and the Serpentine Gallery, London as well as contributing to programming at the Institute of International Visual Arts, and Tate Modern, London.
Umolu is well published in academic journals on the visual arts and has been a visiting lecturer and speaker at “international universities including Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London; Goldsmiths, University of London; Jagiellonian University, Krakow; and University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, among others.“
She holds a Master of Arts with honors in Architectural Design from the University of Edinburgh and Master of Arts with Distinction in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art, London.