EMILY   NOLA



Emily Nola (she/they) is a curator, writer, and researcher based in the Hudson Valley, New York. Working in research-based and cross-disciplinary methodologies, her work is interested in technology, mediation, and contemporary culture. She is deeply invested in alternative pedagogical strategies and collective practices.


CV  bio 
instagram ↗  are.na ↗   substack ↗  emilylnola@gmail.com ↗


    SELECTED WORK

    PROJECT     TYPEYEAR
25
ASSUME FORM
EXHIBITION
2026
23
IN CONVERSATION WITH 0RPHAN DRIFT
WRITING, INTERVIEW
2026
22
SPEED POLITICS
PROGRAM
2026
21
ASSUME FORM READING GROUP
PROGRAM, RESEARCH
2026
20
THE LIVENESS OF THINGS
PROGRAM
2026
17
NOTES FROM OBLIVION
EXHIBITION
2025
19
ON BECOMING WATER AND WATER
EXHIBITION
2025
18
BIRDSONG BLUES
PROGRAM, PERFORMANCE
2025
15
WHILE YOU WERE OUT
EXHIBITION
2025
9
A HAUNTED HOUSE
EXHIBITION
2024

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TYPEYEAR
EXHIBITION
PERFORMANCE
RESEARCH
PROGRAM
WRITING
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2026
2024
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2025
2023
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THIS SITE WAS LAST UPDATED ON 06.14.26
15    WHILE YOU WERE OUT
TYPE: EXHIBITION
2024
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While You Were Out
co-curated by Ray Camp, Truth Murray-Cole, Mike Curran
Tom Burr, Paul Chan, Tacita Dean, Robert Gober, Lyle Ashton Harris, David Koloane, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Gabriel Orozco
December 5 – December 15, 2024

Drawing from several collections that were privately held before moving to the Center for Curatorial Studies, While You Were Out foregrounds the residues of the personal that remain when such objects and artworks are reoriented for a public audience. Previously tucked away on bookshelves, scattered on desks, or piled up in corners and forgotten, these objects’ quotidian qualities are here elevated to something more formal.

Alongside everyday materials such as obituaries, snapshots, and personal memos, the exhibition examines various collecting practices, including the book collection of Paul Chan and postcards of Tacita Dean, as well as archival materials originally not intended for public display.

While offering glimmers of personal origins, the exhibition values the absence of the collector, understanding that their lives and intentions are never fully visible. The exhibition asks: How does a collection transform while the collector is out?

While You Were Out includes works of art by Tom Burr, Paul Chan, Tacita Dean, Robert Gober, Lyle Ashton Harris, David Koloane, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Gabriel Orozco, as well as objects from the archives of curator John G. Hanhardt and the papers of gallerist Pat Hearn.