Andrew Suggs is a curator, writer, and artist from Appalachian Tennessee who lives in New York. Andrew’s work and research focuses on art and AIDS, queer art and artists, and performance.
Full CV
Andrew Suggs is a curator, writer, and artist from Appalachian Tennessee who lives in New York. Andrew’s work and research focuses on art and AIDS, queer art and artists, and performance.
Full CV
MA in Curatorial Studies
Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, 2025
Written thesis and exhibition centered on Lovett/Codagnone with Julie Tolentino.
Curatorial Intensive: International Research
Independent Curators International
Philadelphia, PA, 2010 - 2011
Completed a program offering curators the chance to develop exhibition ideas, make connections to leaders in the field, and forge new international networks through peer-group education.
Led by Kate Fowle. Scholarship funded through the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage.
BA in Art, Film and Visual Studies
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 2005
Awarded summa cum laude for thesis in mixed media studio art. Studied with Chris Killip, Annette Lemieux, Yvonne Rainer, Stephen Prina, and others.
Coursework focused on photography, critical theory, and contemporary art history. Three graduate-level art history seminars.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE & ASSOCIATIONS
Curatorial Work Placement
KW Institute of Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany, 2024
Provided assistance to the curatorial team of one of Europe’s most respected alternative art venues. Designed and implemented two public programs for Jimmy DeSana and Paul P.: Ruins of Rooms: a lecture on Jimmy DeSana’s early involvement with mail art and zines, and a hands-on photography workshop inspired by DeSana’s photography and Paul P.’s archive inspired paintings. Provided input in weekly curatorial meetings, reviewed German-to-English translation, helped curate film screenings, and provided other general assistance to the three staff curators and director. A three-month full time work placement as part of the requirements for the masters degree at CCS Bard.
Collective Member (doula)
What Would an HIV Doula Do? (WWHIVDD), New York, NY, 2025 - present
What Would an HIV Doula Do? (WWHIVDD) is a community of people joined in response to the ongoing AIDS crisis. Dispersed across the USA, Mexico, and Canada, WWHIVDD comes together to create events, workshops, and publications that expand discourse around care for those impacted by HIV. The collective’s work examines intersections between the legacy of AIDS and the carceral system, the medical industrial complex, and the COVID-19 pandemic among other intertwining concerns. WWHIVD has been featured in The Body, Art in America, POZ Magazine, and Racebaitr. The collective was recently awarded a Blade of Grass fellowship, was a finalist for the Visible Award, and was featured in the short film A Place In The City.
Gallery Associate
Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 2019
Worked directly with owner/director Sueyun Locks, focusing on writing, curation, art fair proposals, and artist relations. Drafted and oversaw editing of copy for the gallery, including letters, announcements, press releases, website text; assisted in the curation of monthly gallery exhibitions; worked closely with artists during studio visits, archives management, public relations brainstorming, and financial matters. Managed gallery’s social media, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram; contributed to the gallery’s presence on Artnet and Artsy.
Founder/Director
East TN Artscapes, Newport, TN, 2017 - 2018
Founded and served as executive and artistic director of a community arts organization devoted to supporting Appalachian art as a vital part of East Tennessee culture. Developed educational, public, and exhibition programs. Managed fundraising and development (including grant writing), finances, marketing and press relations (including website and social media), and community/government partnerships. Developed Board of Directors and maintained Board relations. Obtained 501c3 status.
Executive Director
Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA, 2008 - 2014
Developed programs, curated and implemented exhibitions, and recruited members for one of Philadelphia’s oldest and most respected galleries. Executed large programs, including several funded by large grants from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. Expanded program to include performance venue, AUX. Greatly increased operating budget, led development program, and worked closely with gallery artists and Board of Directors to plan and execute programs and fundraising events. Developed and implemented an education program. Oversaw daily administrative responsibilities, member committees and responsibilities, fiscal management, and marketing and press relations. Served as managing editor of four publications. Maintained and updated website and social media presence. Managed interns.
Curatorial Intern
Participant, Inc., New York, NY, 2004
Worked alongside founder/director Lia Gangitano at her Lower East Side gallery focused on bringing recognition to underrepresented artists through in-depth consideration, presentation, and the publishing of critical writing.
Editor/Publisher
Harvard Photography Journal, Cambridge, MA, 2004 - 2005
Arts Editor
The Harvard Advocate, Cambridge, MA, 2004 - 2005
NONPROFIT ADMINISTRATION, GRANT WRITING, PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Organizational Restructuring
Vox Populi, Philadelphia, 2012-2014
Worked with consultants Stacy Switzer (Grand Arts) and Nello McDaniel (Arts Action Research) to undertake a multi-year restructuring of an aging alternative artist space in Philadelphia as Executive Director, including restructuring Board of Directors, expanding physical space to include a live performance venue, writing a five-year rolling strategic plan, improving relations with funders, and securing new multi-year funding. Work funded by the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage.
AUX Performance Space and Curatorial Fellowships
Vox Populi, Philadelphia, 2011-2015
Devised, managed and secured funding for this fellowship program, which provided dedicated time to leading curatorial voices in contemporary art for critical exploration within emerging and experimental time-based practices. Each fellow spent two months pursuing research, writing, and scholarship followed by a two month period of programming a unique performance series, including performance art, dance, public programs, and screenings. The program fostered the exchange of fresh cultural ideas within the rapidly evolving fields of time-based and performing arts in Philadelphia. Fellows were Marissa Perel, Jamillah James, Whitney Kimball, Anthony Romero, and Katya Grokhovsky.
Guest Curator Program
Vox Populi, Philadelphia, 2009-2014
Invited guest curators focused on alternative art practices to propose and mount ambitious traveling exhibitions debuting at Vox Populi, with generous support from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. Exhbitions resulting from the project included:
Alien She, Curated by Astria Suparak & Ceci Moss, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, 2014; several other venues
Quadruple-Consciousness, Curated by Malik Gaines, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, 2011
Dead Flowers, Curated by Lia Gangitano, Vox Populi, Philadelphia; PARTICIPANT, New York, 2010
Annual Vox Populi Juried Exhibitions
Vox Populi, Philadelphia, 2009 - 2013
Oversaw the annual juried show at Vox Populi which brought talent from around the country and abroad to a Philadelphia audience and gave important exposure to early-career artists. Invited guest jurors included Ryan Trecartin, William Powhida and Jennfier Dalton, Jayson Musson, Ruba Katrib, Marlo Pascual, Hilary Harkness and Hunter Braithwaite.
INTERVIEWS / PRESS
Vox Populi at 30, member gallery celebrates with exhibit, programs and love
Jacque Liu, Tina Plokarz, and Li Sumpter, Artblog, June 25, 2019
Considering the Alternatives: Talking with Andrew Suggs of Vox Populi
Pew Center for the Arts & Heritage, 2013
Interview with Andrew Suggs
Becky Hunter, Whitehot Magazine, November 2010
Gallery Spotlight: Vox Populi
Katie Fanuko, Alarm Magazine, June 27, 2010
No Soul for Sale
Interview by Alex Gartenfeld, Interview, June 24, 2009
Interview
Shelley Spector, ArtJaw, 2009
TEACHING / PANELS / CONFERENCES
Participant, Common Field Convening
Philadelphia, PA, 2019
Participated in a three-day gathering of over 500 arts organizers engaged in dialog, discussion, debate, workshops, and practical and social exchanges exploring the state of the artist organization field.
Panelist, People’s Biennial Conference
Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA, 2014
Appeared on a panel alongside Nato Thompson, Astria Suparak, and Jens Hoffman to present ideas on grassroots arts initiatives in conjunction with The People’s Biennial, curated by Jens Hoffman & Harrell Fletcher, organized by Independent Curators International.
Panelist, Remake/Remodel: Self-Organized Artist Spaces
Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA, 2013
Appeared on a series of panels and served as moderator.
Visiting Lecturer
Moore College of Art & Design, Philadelphia, PA, 2009
Developed syllabus and coursework for a required seminar for third-year students in the Photography & Digital Arts major: “Mediated Performance: Time-based Possibilities.”
Panelist, Ryan Trecartin: Wolgin Prize winner
Temple University Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 2009
Examined Trecartin’s work in terms of social media and networks; gender and aesthetic themes in video art. Other participants included Gerard Brown, Scott Gratson, Aaron Smuts, and Elisabeth Subrin.
Panelist, Art Criticism Junto
P’unk Ave Design Studio, Philadelphia, PA, 2009
Served as panelist for a well-attended discussion of the state of art criticism in the city of Philadelphia. Other panelists included Sid Sachs, Libby Rosof and Roberta Fallon, and Katie Murken.
Teaching Assistant
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 2005
Assisted professors in two advanced photography courses and one video production course. Worked closely with individual students to discuss projects and readings. Provided technical assistance with software, including Adobe Photoshop, and a wide array of video/photo equipment.
BOOKS / CATALOGS
Quadruple-consciousness, 2011, Vox Populi
Managing editor, contributor
Painting Bitten by a Man, 2012, Vox Populi
Editor, contributor, designer
Dead Flowers, 2011, Vox Populi/PARTICIPANT Press
Introduction, copy editor
Vox Populi: We’re Working on It, 2010, Vox Populi
Editor, contributor
SELECTED WRITING
Your Hero Is a Ghost: Lovett/Codagnone
A masters thesis focused on the performance work of artist team Lovett/Codagnone that places their practice from 1995-2019 alongside and inseparable from a period in the history of AIDS called “The Second Silence,” in which cultural output around AIDS was notably absent. Chapters include “On the Temporal Drag and Viral Hauntology of AIDS,” “The Second Silence: Undetectability,“ “All Sound Is Queer: Citation, Sampling, and Heritability,” “Voice Over: Acousmatic Sound as Queer Methodology,” and “Collective Identity and Intergenerational Choruses in the Wake of AIDS.” Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College; Lara Fresko Madra, advisor; Amelia Jones and Christoph Cox, readers. pdf available upon request
Lovett/Codagnone: There Is No Revolution without Libidinal Investment. Emi Fontana, Andrew Suggs, and Julie Tolentino in conversation, Mousse Issue 91, March 2025
“Everything I Know About AIDS I Learned from the Movies,” published in the debut issue of Toronto-based film zine Gleaning, created and edited by Jacob Crepault
Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death: Vaginal Davis and ektor garcia, published by Adams Ollman Gallery (Portland, OR), October 2024
Louise Fishman: Returning, published in Locks Gallery exhibition catalog (Philadelphia) and career-spanning monograph published by Karma (New York), 2019–2020.
Contributor, Queer Voice, catalog produced by ICA Philadelphia on the occasion of the exhibition of the same name curated by Ingrid Schaffner, 2009
Landman and the Thunderbird, Andrew Brehm exhibition catalog, Fleisher-Ollman Gallery (Philadelphia), 2009
Introduction, Black Floor, Nick Paparone and Jamie Dillon, eds., 2008
The Alternative, or the Underground, published in PHONEBOOK, international directory of alternative artist spaces, Green Lantern Press, 2008–2009
PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP / ASSOCIATIONS
What Would an HIV Doula Do? (WWHIVDD), North America, 2025-present
Visual Arts Leadership Institute, NAMAC, Silver Falls, OR, 2011
Selected by nomination to participate in NAMAC’s annual Leadership Institute, completing an intimate and intensive week-long immersive professional development program. Assisted in the creation of a national independent network of arts organizers (Common Field).
Founding Network Member, Common Field
Collaborator, Independent Curators International
EXHIBITION HISTORY (AS ARTIST)
2011
Fire, The Front, New Orleans, LA, collaboration with Leah Bailis
2010
Comus, or Some Man I Once Knew, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA (solo)
2009
Summer Shorts, curated by Julien Robson, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Meme, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA (solo)
2008
Merge or Fade, curated by Shannon Stratton, ThreeWalls, Chicago, IL
3D Concerns: Nostalgia, Architecture, Illusion, Repetti Gallery, Queens, NY
Encapsulated Time, curated by Lorie Mertes, Moore College of Art & Design, Philadelphia, PA (solo)
2007
Table Turning, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA (solo)
Morgellons, Fleisher-Ollman, Philadelphia, PA