[Originally posted April 20, 2020]
This is Lydia Espinoza. I’m an LA-based independent curator and I also work in a couple different art spaces in downtown LA. I work on various kinds of projects with artists and other art colleagues in and around LA and internationally.
It has been 40 days since I have been in quarantine due to COVID-19. As soon as the “Safer At Home” ordinance went into affect, I saw a slew of emails announcing closures and postponements hit my inbox. It was like the world was coming to a screeching halt and all of sudden the art world as I had known it had stopped. Since then, I have been focusing on the simple things, like self-care and cleaning up at home. However, throughout this time I have been asking some questions about myself, about my practice and the art world, things like, what will a day of arting look like after this? what will shows be like? what is my job/role now as a curator throughout this and what will be after this? Likewise, I am hopeful and excited for what is to come and what the solutions will look like to some of these questions, and many others.
Along the same lines, I have thinking about how I can move forward in my practice and still give back. As such, I decided to start writing to dig into these kinds of questions. In this blog, I hope to create the beginning of some fantastic convos, explore ideas and ultimately continue my work of bringing a valued light to art.