Paula: What interests you the most about working with the EAG?
Isabela: As an art historian, what interests me most about working at the EAG is the opportunity to work directly with art on a daily basis, to create shows that showcase our collection in an interesting way and that hopefully encourage visitors to view the world around them differently. Personally, I've always been interested in art as a critical tool -- I like art that asks questions, that surprises me, that challenges my expectations. My position as Assistant Curator at the EAG enables me to bring out artworks from our collection that do just that. For example, one of the shows currently on display in our gallery is called "Do Not Disturb: The Image of Anxiety", and the images *are* disturbing stuff -- the subject matter is difficult and the style of the three artists doesn't fit conventional ideas of what "fine art" should look like, so visitors will probably find themselves feeling challenged. I've included a black wall in that show that visitors use as a blackboard to write their comments on the show -- it works like graffiti, very immediate and raw. People write all kinds of things and some of them draw their own art on the wall -- I think it's a great opportunity for visitors to experience art in a more direct way, to feel that their views really matter. As a curator, I have no problem with people saying, for example, "I don't like this show, this art doesn't appeal to me" -- what is important to me is that people *react*, whether negatively or positively, and that they can articulate what they like and don't like and why. For me, there is nothing worse than a visitor looking at a show and not reacting at all.
