curator interview
Suzanne Kachmar: Tell us about yourself? School, work, play?
Natasha Kuranko: I’m a tender-hearted 27-year-old adult who refuses to stop dressing like a child. Currently, I am unemployed though I’ve made a small gig for myself selling thrifted clothes online. I’m a full-time student at Norwalk Community College working towards my associates degree. My free time is best spent riding my bike, reading a book, visiting museums, or catching up with a friend. It makes me chuckle a bit thinking about how eccentric my taste and appearance can be, but overall I prefer to lead a relatively simple existence.
SK: You worked as the gallery manager at Franklin Street Works. How long did you work there, what was your job like? What did you do?
NK: I worked at Franklin Street Works for just under 4 years. It was an incredibly nurturing environment. The artwork I was exposed to there provided me with the motivation and tools I needed to become a better person. Whether an artwork was intimately revealing a struggle unfamiliar to me or pulling back the curtain on oppressive structures I too was inflicted by, my critical thinking skills and will to be compassionate (for both myself and others) was constantly being asked to grow. The executive and creative directors of FSW at the time I was hired, put a lot of intention into creating a work environment that functioned on open communication, care, respect, and mutualism. They trusted me with responsibilities despite my lack of formal education in the arts and were always available if I needed guidance. They taught me to be confident in my abilities; I don’t think I’d have half the aspirations I do today if it weren’t for either of these women.
If I wasn’t walking a visitor through an exhibition, I was likely busy reaching out to local community groups with overlapping interests to an exhibition’s theme, writing letters of appreciation to patrons, updating our CRM database, preparing for an upcoming event, or snacking on cherry tomatoes from our back patio vegetable garden. My favorite work happened while we were bittersweetly deinstalling one exhibition and installing the next. I find the process of repairing holes in walls oddly calming and symbolic of healing, plus nothing beats the precious feeling of holding an artwork in your hands.
SK: What have you been doing since FSW closed and during Covid 19?
NK: The pandemic put a halt to some crucial fundraising efforts for FSW forcing us to close permanently. Unlike many people, I was fortunate enough to qualify for unemployment and not be burdened with food or housing insecurity. My focus has been on my physical, mental, and spiritual health. I see the culture of today as being very tiring, constantly asking us to perform success and prove ourselves. It’s easy to get caught up in this pressure while allowing traumas or feelings of anger, sadness, and grief to accumulate. It’s been nice stepping outside of that mindset and giving myself the time to process and move on from bad things that have happened to me. I just wish more people could be given that opportunity. It’s a bit cheesy to say, but life is really beautiful; I think this pandemic has helped open a lot of people’s eyes, including my own, to how lucky we are to be alive.
SK: Tell us about the exhibit you produced. You proposed and defined the concept, curated the art and mounted the exhibit, bringing your other work experiences to City Lights Gallery.
NK: diving knowing is a group show featuring 19 artists. Most of them are either self-taught or in the early stages of their career. The submission process consisted of me posting a call for art on my Instagram and reaching out to a few individuals I had already established a relationship with, asking if they wanted to submit. I felt so moved by all the work I had access to just through my personal network. A handful of artists in the show are close friends of mine. It’s really amazing to see all their artworks getting along with another in one space.
I was invited to curate this exhibition for women’s month. I wanted to develop a theme relevant to women’s issues and my personal experience as a woman, which wasn’t centered around biology or would risk excluding trans and non-binary artists. I was thinking about how commonly the voices of women, and other marginalized groups, are devalued or ignored and how over generations, this has pushed us into a more perceptive mode of being. Intuition is a really radical concept; there’s a lot of power in recognizing the knowledge you already have inside you and not depending on an external authority to validate it. It was a long train of thoughts and feelings, but basically, I wanted to celebrate something I’ve found to be so crucial in my own life and learn more about how it exists in the life and work of artists.
SK: What’s next? What are your ambitions or plans as an artist, creative, arts professional?
NK: My next, or current step, is finishing up my associate degree at Norwalk Community College. What I go on to study after that will depend on where I am accepted as a transfer student. I’m looking at schools offering majors in curatorial or archival studies but I’d also be totally satisfied getting my masters in education and teaching elementary school somewhere. Far as my ambitions or plans as an artist/creative/arts professional goes… I’d love to refamiliarize myself with guitar and get back into songwriting. My dream is to open up an alternative art space, with a similar value system as FSW, that doubles as a vegan fast food joint. Though that probably won’t be happening for another 5-10 years. One of the names I’ve been playing with for the space is “beans on bread.”
SK: Is there anything else you want to tell us or announce?
NK: No announcements here! I would like to thank every artist who submitted and everyone who supported me throughout this project. Knowing there were people in my life with curatorial experience who were willing to provide guidance if needed saved me from a lot of sleepless nights!