Why are you coming to the CAC?

I am excited about all the possibilities this institution entails. Foremost is the incredible opportunity to newly envision and define what a center of contemporary art can be in a city that has avidly supported art of our time for almost 70 years. It is important to keep the history of the CAC in mind, with its founding in 1939 as Modern Art Society, while re-articulating its mission for the future. I am honored to continue the hard, enthusiastic work the staff, board, and community has put into the institution since its transition into the new Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art. I especially want to acknowledge the accomplishments of the CAC's impressive staff as well as its last two directors, Charles Demarais and Linda Shearer, both of whom I both greatly respect as colleagues.

What do you believe are the biggest opportunities for the CAC?

To become one of the most important, non-collecting, public centers for contemporary art between the coasts. In concert with that goal, it has the potential to continuously confirm the role of art and the creative process in an urban city center, to contribute to the creative, and intellectual life of the Cincinnati community, and to energize and be energized by the cultural infrastructure in Greater Cincinnati. The CAC is housed in a marvelous new building with an open lobby creating the opportunity to truly become the public plaza the architect envisioned: an open, hospitable, social space where people with diverse backgrounds can come together to connect, dialogue, imagine, and be inspired.

What's your vision for the CAC?

I envision a pulsating, welcoming place with excellent exhibitions, visiting artists, music, dj's, performances, dance, lectures, symposia, family programs, gallery talks, readings, other special events, as well as a café and bar. In other words, a hive of activity that is both challenging and enjoyable. The local community will engage with an international art community comprising artists, performers, djs, scholars, critics, curators. The CAC must also participate in larger public responsibilities that pertain to the greater Cincinnati community.

What intrigues me about contemporary culture with its diverse artistic expressions is that it is an ongoing process of creation that happens right now. Contemporary artistic expression is an experimental field, very often ephemeral. It's full of unpredictable discoveries and events that require flexibility and sensitivity. The immediate, exciting,layered, often multi-sensory experience of this process, and the fact that it reflects upon the world as we experience it around us, is one of contemporary art's important features. I aspire for the CAC to be a space in society for investigation, experimentation, questioning, and discovery, as well as an being open and active rather than a place of passive observation. At the same time I hope the CAC will become a buzzing social space: a place that invites people to make connections with others, and a place that encourages people's connection with the art of our time. I aspire to create a place where people can overcome their accessability issues with contemporary art and with institutional settings in general.

What will it take for the CAC to emerge nationally and internationally?

It will take very strong, diverse, interdisciplinary, global artistic and educational programs that address and respond to the local environment while at the same time bringing new ideas to the Cincinnati area. I believe in a program that is firmly rooted in its specific local while looking out to the world and addressing broader potential and concerns. With the CAC as facilitator and catalyst this will create a dynamic exchange of relevant contemporary aesthetics, issues, and ideas. By providing a diverse, well-balanced, program the CAC will become more and more relevant for both the local, national, and international community. To reach its highest potential and to become a superb, recognized institution locally, nationally, and internationally, the CAC will rely on the increased involvement from its community and supporters.

What do you consider as the top accomplishment of your career (so far?)

I have been able to engage and excite diverse communities through contemporary art in different places of the world. In Berlin, Munich, Raleigh, NC, and Boston, MA I have created a highly international exhibition program that also integrated art from national, and local artist communities. It has been exhilarating to see audiences engage with art from China, Brazil, Europe, The Philippines, the United States, etc. and to consider these works as part of their own experiences and world view. In addition I have managed to create well balanced, diverse programs that granted everybody who came to the museum a positive, engaging experience with contemporary artistic expression.

What is CAC's role in the Greater Cincinnati community?

In addition to all the above, it is to demonstrate the commitment that art, as one of society's most transformative forces, should be an integral part of our lives. Contemporary art in particular allows us to reflect upon the world we live in creatively and critically.