International jurors for the ISCP artist residency in New York
Jurors for the ISCP-ECADC residency: Kari Conte, Vita Liberte and Karin Laansoo
Kari Conte is a curator and writer focused on global contemporary art based in New York and Turkey. Her work is invested in ecological thinking and feminist perspectives. She was a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar in Istanbul in 2021 and 2022. Formerly, she was Director of Programs and Exhibitions at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York between 2010 and 2020, where she is currently Senior Advisor. Additionally, she is Residency Curator for Kai Art Center in Tallinn. She has curated more than forty exhibitions; these include recent solo presentations by Fatma Bucak (2022); Alban Muja (2021); Sonia Leimer (2019); Chiara Fumai (2019); Hikaru Fujii (2018); and Jennifer Tee (2018). She regularly contributes to books, exhibition catalogs, and magazines, and has lectured and taught at numerous institutions.
Vita Liberte is the co-founder of VV Foundation, a private arts foundation supporting young and emerging artists of Latvia. The Foundation runs their own artists’ residency in Pavilosta, on the west coast of Latvia. Prior to starting VV Foundation, Vita has continuously supported contemporary arts center Kim?, and other cultural organizations. Vita is an attorney and have graduated from the New York University Law School. She is a member of Tate’s Central and Eastern Europe Plus Acquisitions Committee.
Karin Laansoo is Executive Director and board member of the Estonian Contemporary Art Development Center (ECADC) and Artistic Director of Kai Art Center. Laansoo has a substantial background in contemporary art leadership roles with 15 years of international experience in curating, programming and fundraising for art institutions and nonprofits, and fostering collaborations, projects, and networks between the private and public sectors in the U.S. and Europe. Recent curatorial projects include Leviathan: the Paljassaare Chapter by Shezad Dawood (2020), Soil will not contain our love by Merike Estna (2022), Cyanoceans by Tuomas A. Laitinen and Kristina Õllek (2024), and As Long As the Blood Beats in Our Fountains by Kris Lemsalu and Kitty Florentine for Performa 2023. From 2006 to 2013 Karin worked in New York City as gallery manager of a nonprofit art gallery and director of an international artist residency. She published an award-winning book 22+ Young Estonian Artists in 2005 and produced Piibe Kolka’s documentary film Look a Little More. Katja Novitskova’s Art in Six Episodes in 2018.