Salina Art Center has hired Jefferson Godard as curator.
Godard comes from Chicago where he served as director at Aspect/Ratio Projects. He will assume his new role at the Salina Art Center on June 1.
"The Art Center involved a wide range of people in the national search for a new curator. Former directors, board members, patrons, artists, and community collaborators were engaged in the process," said Misty Serene, executive director at Salina Art Center. "Jefferson stood out to us as someone who was very knowledgeable, and who would make contemporary art engaging and accessible to all audiences."
Godard founded Aspect/Ratio Projects in 2012, which initially focused on video and performance art, exhibiting artists including Guy Ben-Ner, Alejandro Figueredo Díaz-Perera, Kate Gilmore, Sabina Ott, Casilda Sánchez, and Derrick Woods-Morrow. He also independently curated video-based exhibitions, such as "Overkill," at The Mission Chicago with artists Manon de Boer, Candice Breitz, EJ Hill, Diego Leclery, and Casilda Sánchez.
Trained as an architect, Godard served as adjunct faculty in Art & Art History at Columbia College Chicago and has lectured at Art Cologne, College Arts Association Conference, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Northwestern University.
"I'm honored to join the Salina Art Center and continue the legacy for championing Great Plains based artists as well as introducing new voices to the Salina arts community. I also look forward to sharing video art based programming at the Art Center Cinema," said Godard. "It is a privilege to follow the legacy of previous Art Center curators Saralyn Reece Hardy, Christopher Cook, and Bill North."