DAN CAMERON is a curator of contemporary art who also writes about art, teaches & gives lectures about art, makes art, serves on art-related juries and boards, and advises both public and private collections. He has lived in downtown Manhattan since 1979, although for periods of time he has also been based in New Orleans, LA and Long Beach, CA.
Throughout his 40-plus year career organizing exhibitions, Dan has steadfastly championed both the unexpected and the under-recognized. In 1982, he was the first American curator to organize a museum exhibition on LGBTQ art, and in 2008 he launched the Prospect New Orleans triennial in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Along the way, he has curated international biennials in Istanbul, Taipei, Ecuador and Orange County, California, as well as retrospectives of such esteemed artists as Carolee Schneemann, Paul McCarthy, Peter Saul, William Kentridge, Faith Ringgold, David Wojnarowicz, Marcel Odenbach, Pierre et Gilles, Cildo Meireles, and Martin Wong. As part of the Getty Foundation’s Pacific Standard Time initiative in 2017, the Palm Springs Art Museum hosted Dan's exhibition Kinesthesia: Latin American Kinetic Art 1954-1969.
Dan’s core connection with art stems from its capacity to expand our collective awareness of ourselves, the world around us, and the way that humans invent ways to communicate essential values with one another. Not only is art capable of changing the world, he believes, but it’s actually doing just that on a daily basis. Whether in the cause of furthering social justice or challenging art history, or both, Dan believes that the artist’s fundamental obligation to civilization is to push sensorial and perceptual engagement into new & fruitful realms of engagement. The curator’s role in all this is to provide an appropriate platform and context for that expression, and to public a public forum for viewers to more fully immerse themselves in the experience, and for the artists & organizers to engage in critical dialogue about the art and its meaning.
"From my earliest realization that organizing exhibitions and writing about art were things one could do professionally, I've been hooked on the notion that supporting new art can be a contribution to society."
WHO AM I?
WHAT DO I DO?
HOW DO I WORK?
WHO DO I SERVE?
HOW CAN I HELP?
I’m a New Yorker since 1979 and lover of all the arts, but particularly the kind that visual artists make. I’m a proud member of the LGBTQ community, and happily married to my partner of 30 years. We live together on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
I organize contemporary art exhibitions, and I write about art, teach art, and actively maintain an archive on art. I serve on not-for-profit boards, on juries for awards and fellowship, and on advisory committees for cultural projects. I take groups on art tours and advise both public and private collections. Since 2016, I even went back to making my own art.
I look at hundreds exhibitions of new art each year, mostly in Manhattan galleries and museums, although pre-pandemic I traveled a lot to look at art, and have started to do so again. I organize exhibitions for museums, galleries, civic organizations, universities and other educational or not-for-profit groups. I write essays for books and catalogs, and review exhibitions for periodicals. I also work as an independent contractor for individuals, companies and governmental entities.
I like to think that no matter who hires me, artists are my ultimate clients. My work has always been deeply artist-centric, in that I believe in listening closely to what artists want and why, then doing what's in my power to turn that idea into a reality. More broadly, I serve the community of people who care passionately about art.
Consultation is typically recommended to determine if what I do is the right fit for your organization or project. Chances are that even if I’m not the right person for the job, I can point you in the right direction. I'd love to hear about your curatorial needs and goals are.