Oolite Arts opens the fall season of Oolite Arts Conversations with a public talk by internationally recognized curator Ralph Rugoff.
Oolite Arts is pleased to open the fall season of Oolite Arts Conversations with a public talk by Ralph Rugoff, former director of the Hayward Gallery in London and Artistic Director of the 2019 Venice Biennale.
Taking place on October 29, the talk will offer Miami audiences an opportunity to hear Rugoff reflect on his extensive experience in the international contemporary art field and his perspective on its current landscape. Drawing on decades of curatorial leadership across Europe and the Americas, as well as his work as a writer and cultural strategist, Rugoff will discuss developments shaping contemporary art and curatorial practice today.
Rugoff’s curatorial practice is known for its broad-ranging approach, bringing together artists across generations and geographies in exhibitions that engage wide audiences while maintaining intellectual and artistic rigor. His exhibitions frequently challenge established narratives and bring diverse artistic practices and perspectives into dialogue, reflecting his longstanding engagement with contemporary art’s critical agency and with evolving questions in curatorial discourse.
“I’m looking forward to talking about ways of making exhibitions that invite audiences to simultaneously entertain multiple perspectives or juggle seemingly incompatible notions and diverse ways of making sense of the world. In our increasingly polarised world, art’s capacity to enable this kind of experience is a much-needed tonic. And as someone who believes that human happiness is closely tied to having substantive exchanges with other people, I’ll also speak about a long-time personal goal of fashioning exhibitions that spark conversations among us as well as within us,” said Rugoff.
Drawing on this combination of institutional and independent experience, Rugoff’s participation in Oolite Arts Conversations will have particular resonance in Miami, where artistic experimentation, cultural exchange, and public life intersect. The talk also reflects the interdisciplinary, socially engaged, and internationally oriented approach that Oolite Arts seeks to foster.
About the Speaker:
Ralph Rugoff was director of London’s Hayward Gallery from 2006 to 2026, where he curated monographic exhibitions of major contemporary artists including Ed Ruscha, Tracey Emin, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Louise Bourgeois, Tavares Strachan, and Anish Kapoor, as well as numerous thematic exhibitions. While at the Hayward, Rugoff also initiated an ongoing program of on-site public artworks and launched the Hayward Project Space, a platform for artists from around the world with limited prior institutional exposure.
Rugoff served as Artistic Director of the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019 and Guest Curator of the XIII Lyon Biennale in 2015, while also organizing exhibitions at major arts institutions around the world as an independent curator. As a critic and writer, Rugoff has contributed essays to numerous catalogs and books and has published widely in international art and news outlets. In 1996, he published Circus Americanus, a collection of essays on popular and visual culture and architecture.
Rugoff also directed the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts from 2000 to 2006, where he was the founding director of the CCA Curatorial Studies Program.
ABOUT OOLITE ARTS CONVERSATIONS
Conceived as a platform for critical exchange, Oolite Arts Conversations reflects Oolite Arts’ commitment to supporting artists while advancing the knowledge and practice of contemporary visual arts.
Locally grounded and internationally engaged, Oolite Arts Conversations, under the direction of Oolite Arts Senior Director of Programs Rina Carvajal, creates a forum in Miami where artistic ideas and perspectives can be presented, debated, and shared.
Oolite Arts Conversations is organized by Rina Carvajal, Senior Director of Programs at Oolite Arts. It is made possible with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council; the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture; and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
Oolite Arts Media-Only Contacts: Claudia DoCampo, Director of Communications and Marketing, [email protected], (305) 746-2250
When:
Oct. 29, 2026
7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Where:
Proscenium Theatre, Little Haiti Cultural Complex
212 NE 59th Terrace, Miami, FL 33137
Admission: Free
Free On-Site Parking
