Her Story
About Laura
In my current role, I oversee a collection of around 20,000 objects spanning 125 countries or cultures and going from antiquity to the present. My days are very varied - there's always important work to study the collection, develop understanding about it, and share with the museum's audiences. I make the collection accessible through study center visitors who come in to do research, exhibitions, and programs. I also do a lot of community outreach, whether that's going to meet with artists in the community or potential donors to share about projects and help fundraise. I'm particularly focused on sharing stories of women and the work of artists of color in my curatorial practice. Every day is a little bit different, which keeps the work engaging and meaningful.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Laura
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would attribute my success to persistence, probably. I seem a little bit dogged - I'm really determined. And a bit of timing and patience, because things didn't work out immediately, right? I had to keep going at it, and keep going at it, and keep going at it. I think it was really just persistence that got me where I am today.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Follow your passion. Follow what excites you, and what motivates you and what you enjoy, because when we think about work and people are starting out, they're thinking about the immediacy. But the fact is, most of us will work for 40 or 50 years, right? So you need something that will keep you motivated to keep going, because you're not just thinking of yourself at 25 or 30, you need to think about yourself and the future you want to build and how you want to take care of yourself when you're 50 or 60. I think that requires a lot of determination, and if you follow your passion, you follow something you're interested in, you'll stick with it and you'll set yourself up for success throughout your whole life, not just in the immediacy.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think it's a challenging time to be in the arts. A lot of money has dried up - we're combating whether that's federal or local funding, or combating inflation and the rising cost of materials to build things like an exhibition. Some jobs have come back, but a lot of jobs have not come back post-COVID, so another challenge is trying to make sure that there's roles and that we're feeding the pipeline of people who could come up in the field to take over eventually.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty, transparency, and accountability are the values most important to me in my work and personal life.
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