Xaviera Simmons in conversation with Christina Vassallo

Xaviera Simmons’ diverse body of work that includes photography, performance, video, sound, sculpture, and installation. Her interdisciplinary practice is rooted in an ongoing investigation of experience, memory, abstraction, present and future histories, and the interconnectedness of formal processes. Simmons received her BFA from Bard College in 2004 and completed the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Program in Studio Art in 2005. She has held teaching positions at Harvard University, Yale University, and Columbia University. Simmons’ work has been shown in exhibitions at major museums and private collections, including The Museum of Modern Art, The Guggenheim Museum, and The Studio Museum in Harlem.

Christina Vassallo is the Executive Director of The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Philadelphia, PA

From 2020 - early 2023 Christina served as Executive Director of the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, where she redefined a living laboratory that collaborates with artists to make and present new artwork to the public. She has facilitated and curated exhibitions by exhibitions by Samara Golden, Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Jayson Musson, Rose B. Simpson, and Henry Taylor, among others. From 2024 - early 2026 she was the Alice & Harris Weston Director of the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, OH.