RUTH NOACK
Ruth Noack is the Executive Director and Curator of The Corner at Whitman-Walker in Washington, D.C. A highly regarded German curator, art historian, writer and teacher, she became known in the global art world for curating Documenta 12 in tandem with its artistic director Roger M. Buergel. Her 2020 exhibition When We First Arrived amplified testimonies of children detained at the US-Mexico border through the works of 123 visual artists (in collaboration with DYKWTCA). Sleeping with a Vengeance, Dreaming of a Life was shown in its most recent iteration at Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart in 2019/20. She is the author of a monograph on Sanja Iveković and editor of Agency, Ambivalence, Analysis. Approaching the Museum with Migration in Mind (2013). Her essays on Eva Hesse, Olga Maria Bläsi, Mary Kelly, Mary Ellen Carroll, Roger Hiorns, Wendelien van Oldenborgh, Anna Daučíková, Maria Bartuszová, Alejandra Riera, Danica Dakić, George Osodi a.o. have been published internationally in catalogues and journals, such as Afterall and Camera Austria. She has given lectures and taught for 20 years all over the globe.
Which are your three favourite cultural destinations (established or new ones)?
The National Palace Museum in Taipei; Museo Afro Brasil in São Paulo; Württembergischer Kunstverein in Stuttgart, Germany.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE EMERGING CULTURAL CITIES IN THE WORLD AND WHY?
Jakarta is always struggling and always becoming. I love the way in which culture in Jakarta , which ought to be supported by the state but unfortunately is not, keeps spawning new initiatives. Vienna is always pleasing and always dying. Gentrification has taken its toll and the cultural fabric is worn thin, but the mixture of high art or artifice and working class grit and wit is still effective. Dakar is always present and always in its prime. Things might not always be organised well, but when they are, they are amazing, like a raw material company.
Tell us about a cultural project with great potential for social impact.
The Corner at Whitman-Walker in Washington D.C. is pioneering cultural practice at the intersection of art, health and education. Firmly rooted in local community, it brings global contemporary art to the table to generate and discuss content around health and social justice from an LGBTQ perspective and beyond. People are tired of the art world; They want to see real impact. The Corner , a space for experiment, a class room, a garden, a toolbox, shows how contemporary art is leading this conversation.
What has been your most memorable recent cultural experience?
Experiencing the world premiere of composer Olga Neuwirth's new opera Orlando, an adaptATion of Virginia Woolf's novel, at Vienna State Opera. Ming-bogglingly beautiful costumes were done by Rei Kawakubo. Performance artist Justin Vivian Bond sang a duo with opera star Kate Lindsey and got away with it - indeed, they were smashing! Olga Neuwirth's music was, as always, highly entertaining, deeply intelligent and radical in its bohemian beauty.
Describe the perfect cultural day of the city you live in.
A perfect day would include a visit to the Museum of African American History - a must for anyone who wants to understand this country. D.C. has quite a theatre scene and Theater Alliance in Anacostia, the largest black community of what used to be called Chocolate City, is most inspiring. Life after Covid will include tea-dances at the Corner at Whitman-Walker - for now, visitors will make do with exhibitions in our exquisite art space.