Jessica Orzulak, associate curator and curatorial affairs manager at the Asheville Art Museum, participated in an interview discussing her personal interests and professional insights. She spoke about her love for hiking trails in the Appalachian Mountains, missing the desert landscapes of the West Coast, and her current TV preferences including "Severance" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation." The interview also covered her work presenting artist Pedro Lasch's "Black Mirror" series as part of the public program "What Can Become of Us?" at the museum, part of a collaboration with the Stanford Institute for Advancing Just Societies and Zócalo.
This interview matters because it offers a behind-the-scenes look at the perspective of a museum curator, highlighting how contemporary art can reframe erased or censored histories. Orzulak's discussion of an exhibition at the Palm Springs Art Museum featuring Edward Curtis's photographs alongside responses by contemporary Native American photographers illustrates the power of art to challenge dominant narratives and provide alternative historical viewpoints. The piece also underscores the role of regional museums like the Asheville Art Museum in fostering community engagement through thoughtful programming.