Friday, December 6, Whitewall and re:source will host “Playdate,” a family-friendly event including a panel discussion and art activations for children. Taking place at the National YoungArts Foundation in Miami from 10AM-12PM, the morning will feature an “Art Mamas” panel discussion with Rujeko Hockley and Sarah Arison, moderated by Katy Donoghue and Helen Toomer.
Rounding out a week of fairs, shows, and events, the conversation will parallel Whitewall’s “Art Mamas” series, an ongoing conversation around navigating the art world with children. In partnership with re:source, a community of innovative leaders formed to support the growth of women-identified creatives, the talk will touch upon subjects like family leave, the transition back to work postpartum, the social responsibilities of the art world, and more. As new moms, Hockley and Arison will share their experiences, insights, changing perspectives, and challenges.
RSVP: If you’re interested in attending “playdate”, please register you’re interest at re:source or e-mail hello@re-source.art.
Helen Toomer is the Co-Founder of STONELEAF RETREAT, an artists residency and connective space in the Catskill Mountains of New York (which just announced its 2020 residency program including an inclusion of family residencies) and also Co-Founder of re:source. Formerly, Toomer was the Fair Director of the IFPDA Fine Art Print Fair and the Director of both the PULSE Contemporary Art Fair and Collective Design Fair. She lectures on art fairs, social media and professional development at universities and arts organizations in the US and the UK and was an Adjunct Professor at Sotheby’s Institute for Art and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Toomer co-founded and managed a contemporary art gallery, toomer labzda, in New York and graduated with a Bachelors in Fine Arts from the Arts institute of Bournemouth, England. She serves on the Advisory Committees for ProjectArt, Foundwork and the Baxter St Camera Club of New York.
Rujeko Hockley
Photo by Jody Rogac
Rujeko Hockley is an assistant curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art. She is the co-curator of the 2019 Whitney Biennial. Additional projects at the Whitney include Julie Mehretu (forthcoming 2020), Toyin Ojih Odutola: To Wander Determined (2017), and An Incomplete History of Protest: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1940-2017 (2017). Previously, she was Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the Brooklyn Museum, where she co-curated Crossing Brooklyn: Art from Bushwick, Bed-Stuy, and Beyond (2014) and was involved in exhibitions highlighting the permanent collection as well as artists LaToya Ruby Frazier, The Bruce High Quality Foundation, Kehinde Wiley, Tom Sachs, and others. She is the co-curator of We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-85 (2017), which originated at the Brooklyn Museum and traveled to three U.S. venues in 2017-18. She serves on the Board of Art Matters, as well as the Advisory Board of Recess.
Sarah Arison is President of the Arison Arts Foundation, a private grant-making organization that supports emerging artists and the institutions that foster them. She was immersed in the arts from a young age by her grandparents, visionary philanthropists Ted and Lin Arison, who founded Arison Arts Foundation, the National YoungArts Foundation, and the New World Symphony, among their many philanthropic endeavors. Arison is Chair of the Board of the National YoungArts Foundation, where she has developed strategic partnership s with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sotheby’s, Sundance Film Festival, and more to provide aspiring talent with presentation and mentorship opportunities. Arison is Vice-Chair of the board of MoMA PS1; a trustee of MoMA and member of the Committee on Education; a trustee of American Ballet Theatre and Chair of the Education Committee; a trustee of Lincoln Center; a trustee of the Brooklyn Museum and Chair of the Education Committee; a trustee of New World Symphony; a member of the Board of Directors of Americans for the Arts; and a trustee of the Americas Foundation of the Serpentine Galleries.
Sarah Arison
Photo by Nick Garcia
Courtesy of National YoungArts Foundation
National YoungArts Foundation identifies the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary and performing arts, and provides them with creative and professional development opportunities throughout their careers. YoungArts award winners include accomplished leaders in their fields such as Daniel Arsham, Terence Blanchard, Camille A. Brown, Viola Davis, Allegra Goodman, Josh Groban, Judith Hill, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Andrew Rannells, Desmond Richardson and Hunter Schafer.
2100 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33137
Helen Toomer
Courtesy of STONELEAF RETREAT
