Blake Shell is a curator and arts administrator living in Portland, Oregon. She has worked as a curator of academic galleries and director of non-profit art organizations since 2002. Exhibitions that Shell has curated have received reviews regionally as well as in Artforum.com's Critic's Picks and Daily Serving. She recently curated solo exhibitions for artists Marcus Fischer, Willie Little, and Natalie Ball, among others.

Shell has worked as the executive and artistic director of Oregon Contemporary since 2017, providing leadership and artistic direction for the organization. She has recently overseen a strategic growth plan and rebrand – increasing programming with a focus on support for the artists and improving diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion throughout the organization.

CV

Education

M.F.A. 2003 Photography Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia
B.A. 2001 Studio Art University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee

Professional Experience

2017- Current
Executive and Artistic Director, Oregon Contemporary (formerly Disjecta), Portland, Oregon

2019-Current
Consultant, working with clients from arts and culture nonprofit organizations providing executive leadership coaching and strategic growth planning,

2019- 2020
Portland Art Focus representative (volunteer) for the Portland Art Dealers Association

2016- 2020
President (volunteer), Northwest Art Council Board, Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon

2013- 2017
Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Director and Curator, Art Gym and Belluschi Pavilion at Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, Oregon

2012-13
Project Manager, private art collection, Portland, Oregon
Curatorial Assistant, Ronna and Eric Hoffman Gallery, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon

2009-2012
Gallery Director, Archer Gallery, Clark College, Vancouver, Washington
Adjunct Instructor, Clark College, Vancouver, Washington
Adjunct Professor, Washington State University, Vancouver, Washington

2011
Graduate Mentor, University of Boston Low Residency MFA program, off-site

2005-2008
Gallery Curator/Director, Joseph Gross and Lionel Rombach Galleries, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Adjunct Professor, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

2006-2007
Public Art Coordinator, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

2004-2005
Executive Director, Dinnerware Contemporary Arts, small fine art not-for-profit gallery, Tucson, Arizona

2001-2004
Freelance Web Designer, for a gallery, a student radio station, a recycling group, and a professional boxer.

2003
Gallery Co-Director/Co-Owner, Pics, contemporary art space in the new Starland Arts District, Savannah, Georgia
Teaching Assistant, Department of Photography, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia

2002-2003
Gallery Manager (volunteer), Oglethorpe Row Gallery, fine art non-profit cooperative gallery, Savannah, Georgia