V. Mitch McEwen: The newly appointed curator of the New Museum IdeasCity initiative. Photo:  A(n)other Lab, Princeton SOA

ART NEWS

V. Mitch McEwen, the newly appointed Curator of New Museum IdeasCity Initiative brings with her a world of experience in art, urban design, and architecture.

BY ARTCENTRON

NEW YORK, NY. –V. Mitch McEwen has been appointed as Curator of New Museum IdeasCity Initiative. IdeasCity is New museum’s high-profile, multi-pronged initiative that explores the future of cities with culture as a driving force. Lisa Phillips, Toby Devan Lewis Director, and Karen Wong, Deputy Director of the New Museum, cofounders of IdeasCity, made the announcement Tuesday. The Curator is a two-year appointment linked to the biennial presentation of IdeasCity Initiative in New York and is responsible for the two-year cycle leading up to this presentation. McEwen’s appointment takes effect immediately.

Mitch McEwen is expected to bring fresh ideas to the IdeasCity Initiative projects as well as inculcate the rigor necessary for urban planning. Lisa Phillips is delighted that V. Mitch McEwen is joining the IdeasCity team. She notes:

We are delighted that McEwen will join the stellar IdeasCity team at the New Museum for the next two-year cycle. As a practicing urban designer and professor of architecture, she is keenly attuned to the built environment and will bring intellectual rigor to thinking about urban design and planning as we continue to engage with cities who believe in culture’s capacity to affect progress.

For McEwen, the appointment is an opportunity to push boundaries and not to be afraid.  She stated:

The New Museum, an institution founded by curators, has consistently advocated for artists as idea leaders. IdeasCity brings that ethos to the streets and a broader public to accelerate the kind of creative knowledge-sharing that opens new possibilities in our everyday lives. There’s a responsibility right now—at this seemingly precarious moment—to not be shy or afraid, but to be bolder than ever and make the most of the connections we have with each other.

As Curator of the IdeasCity Initiative, McEwen will steer the framework for the 2018–19 cities and launch an open call for cities around the world to apply for the 2020–21 cycle. She will report to Karen Wong. McEwen will work closely with the core IdeasCity team, which includes Vere van Gool, Associate Director; Gabe Gordon, Assistant Producer; and Richard Flood, the New Museum’s Director of Special Projects & Curator at Large.

Mitch McEwen comes to IdeasCity with a world of experience. An Assistant Professor at Princeton University School of Architecture, McEwen is also the principal and cofounder of A(n) Office, a collaborative of design studios in Detroit and New York. McEwen’s work has been awarded grants from the Graham Foundation, the Knight Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts.  In addition to the grants and awards, A(n) Office and McEwen have won many commissions. They have been commissioned by the US Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, and the Istanbul Design Biennial.

McEwen’s work in urban design and architecture began at Bernard Tschumi Architects and the New York City Department of City Planning; she also founded the Brooklyn-based nonprofit SUPERFRONT. She previously taught at the University of Michigan and Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. McEwen serves as a board member of the Van Alen Institute in New York.

Formed in 2011, IdeasCity is a collaborative, creative enterprise that—through conferences, workshops, commissions, projects, and exhibitions—investigates key issues, proposes solutions, and seeds concrete actions around a convening of an international network of thought leaders and cultural activists. Building on New Museum’s mission of “New Art, New Ideas” IdeasCity has been expanding the Museum beyond its walls into the civic realm.

Since inception, IdeasCity has been at the forefront of bringing attention to the challenges facing cities around the world. When the initiative was formed about 7 years ago, there were few conferences on urban futures and none sponsored by a museum. During its relatively short life span, IdeasCity has grown into a unique and robust platform that addresses some of the major challenges and opportunities facing cities around the world today.

Working in partnership with like-minded cities that believe culture is fundamental to urban growth and innovation, the IdeasCity Initiative has been key to the new initiative in urban development. Projects have taken place in New York (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017), Istanbul (2012), São Paulo (2013), Detroit (2016), Athens (2016), and Arles (2017). The next IdeasCity will take place in Toronto on September 15, 2018, in partnership with the Bentway. In the spring of 2019, IdeasCity will be in New Orleans.

Have you attended or been part of any of the New Museum IdeasCity Initiative projects? Tell us about your experience. Leave a comment.