Harriet Tubman Center Museum

About this event

Curated by Harriet Tubman Center for Expanded Curatorial Practice at MLK School and Lisa Jarrett

Drawing from the Museum’s collection, this exhibition is co-curated by Lisa Jarrett, an artist, educator, and curator, and the Harriet Tubman Center for Expanded Curatorial Practice at MLK Elementary— a group of 4th and 5th grade curators from KSMoCA. Working from a conversation with notable curators Dr. Lowery Stokes Sims and Dr. Leslie King Hammond, the exhibition engages PAM’s collection in new dialogues shaped by emerging curatorial voices and multigenerational knowledge. From theme and concept development, through work selection, and installation, this community curators project highlights the collaborative nature of curatorial practice and museum work.

Harriet Tubman Center for Expanded Curatorial Practice at MLK School (HTC) is a KSMoCA project. Students participate directly in shaping exhibitions, positioning them as contributors to the museum, and engaging them as researchers, writers, planners, and curators. Through workshops and field trips, students collaborate with artists, visiting curators, and mentors from Portland State University’s College of the Arts. They research how exhibitions are developed, how artworks are interpreted, and how institutional decisions shape public understanding. Expanded curatorial practice includes visual art, writing, performance, research, publishing, and social practice. Co-founded by Lisa Jarrett and Harrell Fletcher, the project began in 2018 at Harriet Tubman Middle School and continues in its current iteration at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School.