I am a curator, cultural strategist, artist, and nonprofit leader whose work explores how people make meaning, relate to their histories, connect to place, and find belonging.
My practice spans studio art, art historical research, exhibitions, public programming, creative economy strategy, and organizational leadership. Across these forms, I return to the same questions: how value is created, how stories are framed, who gets to participate, and what structures allow cultural life to grow.
Trained as a metalsmith and studio artist, I began by examining objects, memory, inheritance, and personal history. Those interests expanded into curatorial and public work, and eventually into the institutions, systems, and places that support cultural life.
For more than twenty-five years, I have worked across contemporary art, craft, public culture, community development, and nonprofit leadership. I live and work in the Philadelphia region.
Current Practice
Curatorial + Cultural Work
Exhibition research and development, interpretation, artist collaboration, public programs, audience engagement, and writing.
Creative Economy + Place
Cultural infrastructure, artist and small-business support, public life, civic partnerships, events, and place-based development.
Strategy + Development
Strategic planning, fundraising, evaluation, systems design, partnership development, nonprofit leadership, and organizational growth.
Selected Background
Arts + Curatorial Leadership
More than two decades of work across contemporary art, craft, exhibitions, public programming, audience engagement, and artist support.
Creative Economy + Community Development
Leadership of cultural spaces, public programs, business support, Main Street strategy, public art, partnerships, and place-based initiatives.
Education
Certificate of Non-Profit Management
LaSalle University
MFA, Studio Art, Metals
Graduate Minor in Art History
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
BFA, Metalsmithing and Jewelry
Minor in Art History
Maine College of Art
Clare Finin 