CD Forum Curator Dani Tirrell answers a few questions about Dani's approach to curating, continuing to learn, and memorable moments in conversation during 2020.
Did your approach to curating change during the pandemic and 2020?
Dani Tirrell: It actually stopped for a little bit. As a team we did not want to rush into putting programs out there. We wanted to first make sure that the team was doing as well as anyone could, then we took some time to think about what we are doing and who we are. We are still in this process.
What new things did you do and learn?
DT: Currently I am learning to reimagine and to think outside of what has been done and what is currently being done. That does not mean to invent something new. It just means to go down while others are going up. I am learning to be more clear, I did not want to be overbearing with the team. But giving little to no direction or clarity was not moving us forward. So I am becoming more clear and sure of myself.
What's a thought, idea, or quote from your Intimate Conversations that has stuck with you? DT: There is an IC with Kristi Brown and she talked about how the enslaved African women would cook for the masters. She said at any given time those women could have killed the entire families with the food they cooked. But they did not. They could have served them dishes that would have taken them out, but the humanity and love and fear that Black women carried/carry kept them alive. And to this day black women are still saving people that do not deserve them.
