Vista Foundation Lecture Series
The Vista Foundation supports the study of art history and the School of Art at DAAP. The Foundation’s annual lecture brings notable artists, art writers, art curators, art administrators, and art historians to University of Cincinnati.
2023 Lecture
Contemporary Art Exhibitions: Expanding the Possibilities in Cincinnati and Beyond
2023 was a formative year in the history of three important visual arts institutions in Cincinnati: Contemporary Arts Center, Taft Museum of Art and Wave Pool welcomed new directors. All bring deep experience and valued perspectives. On November 2 we heard how they envision contributing to the contemporary art milieu, and how they will both respect and reshape their institutions.
This lecture was moderated by Kate Bonansinga, Director of UC DAAP School of Art.
Rebekah Beaulieu, Ph.D.
Louise Taft Semple President/CEO
Taft Museum of Art
Rebekah “Becky” Beaulieu, Ph.D. is the author of Financial Fundamentals for Historic House Museums (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017), co-editor of The State of Museums: Voices from the Field (Museums Etc., 2018), and author of the newly published Endowment Essentials for Museums (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022). She holds an M.A. in Art History and Museum Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and in Arts Administration from Columbia University; she earned her Ph.D. in American and New England Studies from Boston University. Becky also serves as an American Association of Museums’ Accreditation Commissioner, Treasurer of the American Association for State and Local History, and as editor of the American Association of State and Local History book series for Rowman & Littlefield.
Anissa Lewis
Executive Director
Wave Pool
Anissa R. Lewis is the Executive Director at Wave Pool. Lewis holds a deep belief in community, and identity and that there is power in place, access and stories. This has led her to teaching, speaking, community-based projects, and artmaking for the past 20 yrs. At Wave Pool, as the second executive director in its history, she works with an amazing staff to initiate and support artist driven social practice projects and exhibit work that stretches beyond its gallery walls through interactive projects to proactively support its neighbors towards social and community change.
Christina Vassallo
Alice & Harris Weston Director
Contemporary Arts Center
Christina Vassallo is preparing the CAC to celebrate its 20th anniversary in its Zaha Hadid-designed building, embark on a strategic planning process, and implement a new artistic vision that will connect the non-collecting museum to its local, national, and global publics. She brings more than ten years of executive-level experience at forward-thinking contemporary arts institutions, previously serving as Executive Director of The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia and as the Executive + Artistic Director of SPACES in Cleveland from 2014 to 2019. She holds a B.A. in art history and M.A. in nonprofit visual arts management, both from NYU.