James Voorhies, new curator at The Bass, shares his holistic vision for the expanding Miami museum
PHOTO BY ZAIRE ARANGUREN/COURTESY OF THE BASS, MIAMI BEACH
For two decades James Voorhies has led, taught and curated art programming across the country. Following his latest role as executive director of the Tony Smith Foundation in New York City, Voorhies comes to Miami as curator of Miami Beach’s premier contemporary art museum, The Bass (thebass.org). Miami magazine talks to Voorhies about his vision for creative-museum integration focused on nurturing artists’ ideas and audience engagement.
A view of the Open Storage exhibition at The Bass Museum COURTESY OF THE BASS, MIAMI BEACH
The Bass is undergoing expansion. How will this impact your curatorial goals?
The expansion provides an opportunity to reenvision what a museum can be today—a social space, a performance venue, a learning site, a production workshop and a place to view art. This is an exciting moment for The Bass to think about how best to comprehensively serve visitors, support artists and present exhibitions and collections, including the impact technology has on the experience and making of art. The curatorial goal is to refine the museum’s existing model where a curator works closely with an artist to create something they may not be able to accomplish in a studio.
James Voorhies.
How will technology play a role in the program?
We want to support artistic practices that experiment with digital technologies and the screen, as well as artists who work with new production technologies to make objects and exhibitions. From the curatorial perspective, I want to use communication technologies—social media, apps, websites—to engage audiences in the museum and remotely.
“THE EXPANSION PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO REENVISION WHAT A MUSEUM CAN BE TODAY.” –JAMES VOORHIES
Your curatorial approach is described as holistic. Can you share more?
By holistic, I mean considering every way a museum connects to audiences and works with artists, from communication, websites and graphic identity to wayfinding and hosting artists. This means demonstrating care and attention to each aspect of museum engagement so it’s coordinated and choreographed. You have called Boston,
San Francisco and New York City home. What excites you about Miami?
I’ve visited Miami Beach since the mid-1990s. Even before this opportunity at The Bass, I maintained a home here, traveling between Miami and New York City. I love the vibrancy of the city, its optimism and how people enjoy getting together—not to mention the palpable international character of the region.
Photography by: Photo By Zaire Aranguren / Courtesy of The Bass Miami Beach
