Ania Szremski: Eric, Aay and Kelly each described the curatorial "process" (or sometimes lack thereof) that they go through. Can you describe how that works at Johalla projects? 

Anna Cerniglia: We have a unique form to our curatorial process. We use a check and balance technique through the three of us (Melissa Marinaro, Caitlin Arnold and myself). There is a lot of critique and criticism. Once I have an idea for a show it is presented and talked about through many emails in order to achieve the finalized idea. That is just theory based- each of us take on a different role in the technical side: I handle all the business and sponsors, while Melissa works more with the artist statements and critique. Caitlin deals with the presentation of the art to make sure everything is oriented the way we like to present it. The correct way to “curate,” according to institutions, is a bit different than what we do. But since we are still a young space we are mainly concentrating on themes, art, and artists. 

AS: One issue that came up a few times and that caught my attention was the question of the curator's moral responsibility to the artist. What's your take on that? Many of the speakers/guests (who were often artist-curators) were all about respecting the artist's right to self-determination and not getting in the way of that with a curatorial conceit. 

AC: A curator’s role in what the artist makes should be minimal. Unless one has studied and actively participated in that form to a point of expertise, the curator should not have ultimate say on the artist’s motives, but instead focus on their role as a mentor. Considering Johalla Projects is run by a group of artists, I feel we are more sympathetic to the art form. We give artists freedom to make their work and consider their say in our press releases and statements. There is a reason we are choosing them. We control the thematic and technical units of the show but pick artists for the work they make. This is the relationship, there is a compromise. I feel all of our collaborations with artists and other curators have led us to be more knowledgeable. 

AS: We also talked about possible tensions between curating inside an art space and making work that infiltrates into daily life, and how a curator may help or hinder the art-outside-the-gallery side of things. I was surprised to hear Eric really defend the sanctity of the white cube in that respect. Your thoughts?

AC: Both of these items are completely different and are very difficult to compare. Both entities are important and viewed differently. I personally support the “white cube” and believe it allows the work to present itself without any distractions. If there is anything that is distracting the relationship between the viewer and the artist, the ultimate goal is not met. This also falls on the intent of the artist. Artists want reaction and in order for someone to fully understand the piece and develop a reaction, the less distractions the better. Art outside the gallery has a different purpose and can be very impactful. We have recently done a few murals and carefully chose our artists based on the impacts we knew their work could make in the neighborhoods. Apartment galleries are different than commercial galleries. Basel art fair is different than Aqua art fair. They all deserve criticism based on their own entities. 

AS: All the speakers commented on the effect of grad school on their practices, which mainly boiled down to: a.) they have less time to do projects, and b.) they have to write a lot more and think about that aspect of their process more critically. I know you haven't gone through a grad program, so do you have any thoughts on higher education and how it could help/hinder your curatorial development? 

AC: Graduate school. This is always been a very interesting topic for me, especially now that I am teaching at an institution where grad students are taking my class. I did apply to grad school and still plan on going in the future. When I decided to not go to grad school and open up Johalla Projects, I was making the decision based on my maturity level and I didn’t feel as if I was ready at the time. The amount of knowledge I have gained through Johalla, art consulting, working for the Verge art fair, and now teaching is a lot more than I would of learned in graduate school. I know I am not at the level I want to be at and foresee graduate school in my future. I know this has had an impact on my curatorial ways. This has made me more of an unconventional curator- my themes are different from the norm. I see art criticism in places where others might not see it, since my ideas and inspirations come from places besides institutions. I feel as if I spent my twenties building up cliental and working out my business form. I did this knowing I will be learning forever and have time for the more intense, restricted learning.