Rachel Reese has been a dear friend for several years. When we met, she and her family had just moved to Atlanta, and it's amazing to think of where we all are now and how our lives have grown and changed. Since that initial meeting, Rachel has become a curator at the Telfair Museums in Savannah, GA, where she balances work--and a lot of work-related travel--with motherhood, family, and life by the beach!
Looking at these pictures makes me both proud and amazed to see where her blluemade items have gone with her. In the summer, her navy blue soft pocket dress was her constant companion, along with her knee wheelchair(!), as she traveled New York doing studio visits and museum visits with artists and other curators. Her blluemade sleeveless jumpsuit was a staple at the Miami art fairs in December, as well as the foundation of her outfit for the opening of her exhibition of Nick Cave's soundsuits, the largest exhibition of his work in Georgia. Thank you, Rachel, for wearing your blluemade so well and for sharing your story with us!
name:
--Rachel Reese
occupation:
--Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Telfair Museums
location:
--Savannah, GA
currently listening to:
--I'm a diehard NPR-listener during the week, but on the weekends at home I've been enjoying our Dust to Digital collection, in particular Greek Rhapsody — Instrumental Music from Greece 1905-1956.
your style:
--easy, classic, and simple pieces. I wear solids most of the time.
how did you become interested in curating?
-- After finishing my MFA in Sculpture, I guess it developed through the route of being interested in an artist's voice, through publishing artists' writings and interviews, while at the same time operating a small project space with my husband that offered both us the chance to work through some curatorial ideas, as well as offer artists a platform to try something non-commercial.
what's your favorite thing about what you do?
--Talking and meeting with artists, seeing their studios especially!
what do you look for in clothing?
--Simplicity, versatility. I'm also a mom so I try to avoid outfits that are too specific occasion-wise. I like to layer and re-use the same pieces all throughout the year.
go-to outfit:
--For the past four months its been my navy blue soft pocket blluemade dress! This summer found me in New York, Portland, Maine, and Montreal for studio visits and my blluemade dress was my perfect travel companion, rolled in my backpack! The linen weight is perfect for the tropical like climate of Savannah, which I'm still acclimating to. In the cooler months I usually wear black jeans and simple tops.
what's our next trip?
-- I don't exactly know where I'm going next! I'm installing the Nick Cave exhibition that opens at Telfair Museums next Friday, January 27th, and am organizing five exhibitions this year, so I plan on being around a lot. We are hosting KCHUNG Radio from Los Angeles from March-April as artists in residence I will be here to lead that project. Also, I have several artists visiting for site-visits or research trips for future projects this spring, which is always exciting to see Savannah through artists' eyes. I'll be in New York in May for Frieze and the Association of Art Museum Curators' annual conference, and I'm hoping to attend the Venice Biennial in October, when my projects settle down!