In Convo with Ginger Rudolph

Back in 2022, I had the opportunity to discover artists that I would fall in love with through an exhibition entitled, “Represent” which was exhibited at the Paradigm Gallery featuring art collective Mz. Icar and artist Nazeer Sabree.  After seeing such amazing art all in one space I had to figure out who was the person who put this all together. With some research, I discovered that Ginger Rudolph was not only the person responsible for this incredible show but she also has a long resume of curating art exhibitions, projects, and collaborations that I was a big fan of. Discovering such an impressive resume, my goal was to speak with Ginger Rudolph about her career and discuss some of her biggest accomplishments in the Philadelphia art scene.

Be sure to read my conversation with Ginger Rudolph to learn about her career as a curator, where her creativity stems from, and what she is aiming for next in her career.

Curator Ginger Rudolph

Keyonna Butler (KB): How would you describe the work you do as a creative entrepreneur?  A lot of times when I talk to curators or even when people ask about curation, it would also be hard to describe curation as an art form per se. How would you personally describe the work you do as a creative entrepreneur and a career? 

Ginger Rudolph (GR): I work from an instinctual place. I feel a genuine connection to art and the ability to communicate with people through it. I didn't start off thinking that I was going to be a curator. I loved meeting artists and connecting them with people who could help them, combining their work with stories. I slowly came to realize that what I was doing was curating. I started on a platform to do the same thing you do. I was curating information to teach people about arts and hold their hand until they reached the next level.

I like the confidence I feel when the orchestration of it locks in. When it's right for a city, space, or the right time in the artist's career to make certain moves. I recently learned that the word curate comes from the Latin word curare, meaning to take care. As a curator, my job is to pay attention to the unrealized work and support, protect, and nurture the artist and my knowledge. 

KB: Where did your love of the arts come from? Did you have creative experiences growing up?

GR: My parents and grandparents exposed my brother and me to various cultural experiences. Now that I think about it, so did their friends. They were so cognizant of society's overreach in trying to change the narrative of the presence of people of color in the arts. They fostered an appreciation for the arts (and seeing our role in it). They gave me a running start that I didn't wholly appreciate until I was older. 

By that time, everything I absorbed was primarily focused on contemporary and public art. I had a lot of fun during that period. At first, it was always something that I loved doing as a hobby. Before long, I was utterly immersed in this world. I later created a magazine focused on helping people understand how amazing and crucial art is. I went back to school to get a degree in art history. So it was like filling in the gap between what I had learned on my own being self-taught versus the academia that I had never gotten. 

Co-curator and moderator, Ginger Rudolph sits with Jim Bachor during art conversation at the Free Library hosted by Mural Arts | Photo Cred: Mural Arts

KB: That's really cool because I can definitely relate to your journey. I remember telling my mom when I was younger that I wanted to be a fashion designer and she was okay but looking back I don’t think she got what I would be actually doing. My dad got it a little bit more because he was really into fashion and his mom was also a seamstress. That was one of the reasons I went to Philadelphia University which is now Jefferson University.  

Even with my love for museums I would go to the museums and I didn't have the language for why I liked something but I just knew I did. It was a feeling that I had that would pull me into an art piece and so I totally get it. Just having a love for arts without having the language is definitely relatable. So, I think that's really cool that you were able to create an art journal around the basis of being an art lover but not really coming from that world of like art or growing up with it. 

GR:  My parents didn't dissuade us from trying anything. They were the type of parents that encouraged you to find creative ventures. My family is continually supportive of all my creative endeavors.

KB: Oh, that's amazing. 

GR: I got tired of seeing, you know, my friends or people in our community not having access to what I thought was a complete wonder. Being in these spaces and seeing a lack of Black professionals in the arts. There aren't enough of us in the room. That angers you too, but you can only complain about it for so long. You have to start figuring out how you can be a solution. And it was like, okay if I feel that way, it's up to me to get in that room and open that door. That's what it takes to start seeing more of us in this field. I went through a lot of crap, so hopefully, the next person doesn't have to. And now I truly sound like my mother. 

KB: Absolutely. That's actually hitting on one of my other questions. The importance of mentorship in Philadelphia or just in the arts in general. I find that talking to a lot of my artist friends they feel like the idea of having a mentorship is no longer relevant. We don't really see a lot of people talk about mentors or having a mentor or even the process of getting a mentor. So with being a part of the art scene, what is one thing that you love and one part of the art community, especially in Philadelphia, that you think may need improvement in a sense? Personally, it would probably be mentorship, but I'm curious to hear what your thoughts were. 

GR:  I suppose the one thing that I love is our community. Philadelphia is such a unique city. The thing about this arts community is that when you need help, people stand by you, which is beautiful. I find fewer people trying to tear you down and more people trying to build you up, and I really love that. 

We have Tattooed Moms on South Street, that's a fantastic hub for old-school street art memories and a perfect space for connecting with fellow artists. It's also a great place to find a mentor. Mentorship is still an important factor in my book. It can be a crucial relationship in your life and one that has the potential to impact your choices and career trajectory.

One of the bad things is that we need more funding. Lack of funding means that we're all clamoring for the same money often. That can cause a lack of unity amongst our institutions. Everybody's got a great idea and wants it to be funded, but when there's such a small pot, it doesn't help keep our art leadership bonded. We need the people in power to see the benefit of the arts because we are one of the cities with the lowest quota for arts funding, and it's just insane. We have proven that art really does change people's lives; it enhances their lives and is just not a priority for a lot of the higher ups. 

KB: With budget cuts happening very often to the arts in Philadelphia, how important is it to support the arts and do these cuts affect the work you do as a curator and artist relation consultant? 

GR:  When the pandemic rolled around, we experienced the cut and the pandemic simultaneously. That was a huge thing. The arts recovered slower than other industries; I mean we still are. During that time, I was on a mission to make sure the artists we had committed to for that year could still push those projects through. So it was like hitting the ground and trying to make our clients see how important it was that we did something in any way that we could to be safe and healthy, but also to keep them paid. 

That was a big priority for us with the cuts. It's always to try and keep jobs coming. About six years ago, I stopped working a traditional job, I do arts full time, and it was a journey to get there. It is always from paycheck to paycheck or from job to job, client to client. So we clamor, you know, at the beginning of the year, how many projects am I gonna have and can I make it count? 

When I hear those cuts are coming, it's not only how am I gonna survive it, right? How are my artists going to get through it? I'm also concerned about Philadelphia's cultural history. People need more than ever to be able to come out and see something amazing. They need that to nourish their souls, and it's hard to make people see that - feel that - if we continue to have cuts that undermine our cultural programming. Constant cuts mean less work, and fabulous artists will start moving away to other cities that will support them in another way, or you know, pay what they're worth. Where will that leave us?

KB: Yeah. I definitely agree with that. I know growing up I always wanted to be a part of the arts. It was kind of like a thing where you either had to move to New York or LA in order to be successful. There are a lot of organizations fighting for artists to stay in Philadelphia and I know there was like an influx of artists from New York that moved from New York to Philadelphia because they thought it was better to live and more affordable. I definitely agree cutting the funds for the arts in this city would be damaging because art is our imprint as a city. But like you said, it's hard to get the funding for the projects that you want. So I would rather artists get that support and funding than just forcing them to stay in a city that they can't really grow or thrive in. 

GR: Yeah. That's a good way of putting it. If you can't thrive, you'll go somewhere else. If this is, you know, what you wanna do for a living. It's ingrained in you to keep it moving.

KB: Absolutely.  I also wanted to touch on your collaborations and some of the projects that you've done.  I did gather some things that you've done and you've worked with a lot of amazing people and artists like Mural Arts, Street Dept, Super Fine Arts,South Street Spring Fest as well as Queen Village and Kid Hazo.You also  recently curated an art exhibit for the Filter Club Philadelphia to showcase artists from the Black Arts Fellowship. How important are those collaborations in building connections as a curator? 

Ginger Rudolph with collaborator Conrad Benner of Streets Dept | Photo Cred: WHYY

GR: It feels like a giant playground. Having a job where you can rotate who you work with is fun. You're always meeting like-minded people, but you're always dealing with a different type of creativity. With Streets Dept, Conrad Benner, whom I work with quite often, and his blog is amazing. He's been documenting street art in Philadelphia for about 10 years, maybe a little more. Conrad is so focused on social political art and that is not my focus. It's not that there's anything wrong with it, but when you work with somebody like that, you learn so much more about the realm that they live in, you know, and the artists who they support. I love that it allows you to focus your art in a completely different genre. And, as we strive to recover right now, the art and the collaborations play a central role in our city's recovery. 

So, with the Visit Philly campaign that we worked on together, it was an opportunity to support the businesses that thrived and survived during the pandemic, which was amazing. The ability to take artists and have them celebrate the businesses they loved in Philadelphia and being able to do it on the scale that it allows you to work with Visit Philly is really wonderful.

KB: How about your work with the Filter Club? How did that come about?

GR:  The Filter Club project came about through my involvement with Mural Arts Black Artist fellowship. It's a whole other realm. It provides a way to help accelerate their careers in a different arena. My curating that show also allowed me to show my range, in essence, both myself and the artists who showed their work at the club were able to take more significant steps toward our art goals. Growth.

KB: Right. That's awesome. So, with the new artists that's coming into the scene, how do you keep up with that? Is it mostly through social media? Do you look through hashtags? Do you just go to shows and meet different people? Like how would you say you personally kind of keep up with all the new artists that's coming into the arts scene?

GR: All of that. *laughs* Really, it takes all of that. I read art journals - I'm constantly trolling through Instagram for new work. I travel a lot to see new shows, go to fairs, and make studio visits. 70 percent of this job is the research and labor of building and maintaining relationships.

KB: Speaking of using new voices to build out collaborations. I went to the “Represent” exhibit at Paradigm Gallery and it was amazing. I'm so glad they were able to extend the show as well. How would you say that came about? How did you choose the two artists that were a part of the exhibit? What was the inspiration behind the exhibit and what did it mean to you curating this exhibition? 

Team HaHaxParadigm posing. L-R, Ginger Rudolph, Jason Chen, Sara McCorriston

Photo Cred: Artblog

GR: Jason and Sarah (co-owners) of Paradigm Gallery are good friends of mine. We've known each other for about 12 years. We work together in a lot of different realms. Matter of fact, we own HAHAxParadigm together as well. 

I curate at least one show a year at Paradigm. So I'm always looking for something for that year's show. I met the artist from 'Represent' through curating the Mural Arts fellowship with Noah Smalls - the other curator. Nazeer Sabree was in our first cohort in 2020, and Mz. Icar was in the cohort for 2021, and to be honest with you, I was pretty blown away during studio visits and had begun plotting immediately *laugh*. It was this feeling that they're gonna produce vital work, and I wanted to be a part of its beginning.

We bonded on our mutual desires to have agency over our narratives, each contextualizing with such different aesthetics. Still, all determined to speak on cultural awareness through art we deemed culturally relevant.

KB: Yeah. Being able to see the exhibit I definitely think it tied in together perfectly. There was one part of the pamphlet that spoke on how culture is a symbolic communication of our attitudes, values, and learned knowledge. I think that message really tied into both of them artistically. When I first saw the exhibit and saw the title of Represent, I saw the representation of the black experience on both sides of it, where you would deem positive versus where you would deem negative. When looking at Nazeer’s work I tried to pay attention to all the images that were collaged together and how it was like different experiences of black pop culture that shaped our community. With Ms. Icar’s work and just seeing that same thing, I was like this definitely relates. So it was really a good pairing of how you were able to relate both of them together.

Left: Nazeer Sabree, Theseus and the Gaze, mixed media, 30x40
Right: Mz. Icar, Bank Vol.8, stretched tapestry, 24x24 | Photo Cred: Paradigm Gallery

GR:  I appreciate the compliment. With Nazeer, he focused on young Black males and Mz. Icar, mainly focused on the Black female. The one thing I felt really confident about was that it was so scary. Sometimes you know you're on the right track, but you are not sure how it will be received. Because it can be stressful trying to explain to somebody why cornrows should be up on a wall or the grills and the bling. This acknowledgment is so important to our culture. We're doomed as soon as we start thinking about how everyone else feels about our work to the point were it controls the creation. 

KB: Yeah. I totally, totally agree with everything. Before we wrap up, my last quick question is just if you have any dream collaborations that you would love to work with. Whether it's an artist or an art space or even a museum. 

GR: Yeah, I do. I love working for Philadelphia. I do love our spaces, but it would absolutely be amazing to work with Creative Time or even the Brooklyn Museum is another one. Also, the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Public Art Fund, I would even love to work with ICA Philadelphia. My best collaborations are going after the people with the budget to support the dream. So, for instance, I would love to bring Nick Cave to Philadelphia. That would be amazing. I think it's just wanting to work with other initiatives with the budgets and manpower to make your curator dreams come true.  

KB: Yeah, absolutely. I think you definitely have the talent and you will have the power to bring that in the city and to manifest it into your world of art and curation. Once again, I thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to speak with me. Just for me to have the opportunity to hear your thoughts on like art and your process of curation has been amazing. I really do appreciate it and thank you. 

GR: It's been great. Anytime.

Be sure to follow Ginger Rudolph on social media @popgeekout and visit her website https://www.gingerrudolph.com/