T he International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) is a laboratory for the world’s most promising artists and curators, a place for innovation and experimentation. ISCP’s mission is to support the creative advancement of contemporary artists and curators, and promote cultural exchange through residencies, exhibitions and public programs. Housed in a former factory in East Williamsburg, with 35 light-filled work studios and two gallery spaces, ISCP is New York’s most comprehensive international visual arts residency program, and the fourth largest worldwide.
Jane Farver was a globally celebrated curator who served as a dedicated trustee of ISCP. Her extraordinary role as a pioneering curator changed the lives of artists and shared their work with audiences around the world. As co-chief art critic at The New York Times and Pulitzer Prize winner Holland Cotter recently noted, Farver was a “vista-opener” who gave a huge boost to many artists and colleagues during her career, with her generosity of spirit and strong vision.
As chief curator at the Queens Museum from 1992-99, Farver organized the hugely influential exhibitions Global Conceptualism: Points of Origin 1950s-1980s; Across the Pacific: Contemporary Korean and Korean American Art, and Out of India: Contemporary Art of the South Asian Diaspora. Out of India 'was one of the few surveys of its kind in the United States up to that time.’ (H. Cotter, ‘Indian Artists Look Westward, and Homeward, at the Queens Museum,’ The New York Times, 4 June 2015) It featured notable names such as Rina Banerjee, Homai Vyarawalla, Pablo Bartholomew, Allan deSouza, Zarina Bhimji, among others. Farver’s work with artists and movements outside of the West had an impact on contemporary art discourse that continues today.
The annual Jane Farver Memorial Fund residency at ISCP was launched in 2017 to honor Farver’s legacy by offering career-enhancing opportunities to gifted curators in New York City. It has been supported by a major grant from the Lambent Foundation, and by donations from many individuals who understand the real influence contemporary curators can have on the careers of visionary artists, and production of discourse and knowledge. Since its inception, four curators have received support from the Fund from across the Global South including Beirut, Mexico City-based and Guangzhou.
The works of Zarina and Shahzia Sikander in this auction (lot 67 and 68) have been donated to ISCP by John L. Moore, Jane’s husband and noted abstract painter. The funds from the sale of artworks will provide a robust fully-funded residency experience for one talented curator in 2021. The residency will include 24-hour access to a private furnished studio space for three months; meetings with visiting critics; field trips to museums, galleries and other cultural venues; and participation in a public talk. It will also include a stipend for travel and housing, and funding to curate and produce an exhibition in ISCP’s 350 sq. ft. Project Space.
