Curators Talk | Vivian Crockett and Isabella Rjeille

We are pleased to be hosting the Brazilian-born curators of the 2026 instalment of the New Museum Triennial, New York, which showcases emerging artists from around the world. Vivian Crockett and Isabella Rjeille will discuss their collaborative partnership, curatorial methodology, and recent projects. Their visit to Australia has been organised by Artspace, Sydney, with support from the Keir Foundation.

Vivian Crockett is a curator focused on the modern and contemporary art of African and Latinx diasporas and the Americas, at the intersections of race, gender, and queer theory. For the New Museum, she curated Doreen Lynette Garner: Revolted and Screen Series: Zahy Guajajara in 2022, and Tuan Andrew Nguyen: Radiant Remembrance and Puppies Puppies (Jade Guanaro Kuriki-Olivo): Nothing New in 2023. She also co-curated Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined in 2023. Before joining the New Museum, she worked at Dallas Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Modern Art, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Isabella Rjeille is a curator at Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, where she has curated exhibitions, including Cinthia Marcelle: By Means of Doubt in 2022, Maria Martins: Tropical Fictions in 2021, Feminist Histories: Artists After 2000 in 2019, Lucia Laguna: Neighborhood in 2018, and Tracey Moffatt: Montages in 2017. She previously worked at the São Paulo Bienal and Casa do Povo, where she edited its publication Nossa Voz from 2014 to 2020. 

Vivian Crockett. Photo: Ciara Elle Bryant.

Isabella Rjeille. Photo: Vans Bumbeers.