Behind In a State of IF: A Collaborative Curatorial Journey

“In a State of IF”, on view in MIAD’s Frederick Layton Gallery through November 21, is the result of a years-long collaboration between co-curators Maria Novotny and Katherine Gressel.

The partnership began in 2021 when Gressel, a New York-based curator, discovered Novotny’s work with The ART of Infertility, an arts-based storytelling and advocacy project. What started as a shared interest in using art and storytelling to engage complex lived experiences eventually evolved into the expansive exhibition now on view at MIAD.

When the curators learned that their proposal had been accepted at MIAD, they were already familiar with one another’s working styles thanks to a smaller exhibition they had organized together in New York.

“We had the advantage of having recently completed the shorter “Progyny” exhibition together,” they said. “That experience gave us an opportunity to pilot our collaborative working process on a smaller scale and helped us develop a sense of how to divide responsibilities, communicate and make decisions together before taking on a much larger exhibition.”

Despite living in different cities, Novotny and Gressel relied on Zoom, Google Docs, email, text messages and shared planning tools to stay connected throughout the process. They also recognized the importance of meeting in person, gathering in Milwaukee six months before installation to finalize artwork selections, exhibition layouts and logistical details.

The curators found that distance presented challenges, but also unexpected strengths.

“One benefit of our collaboration was that we each brought an existing network of contacts and relationships with artists to the project,” they explained. “This gave us a broad pool of artists to draw from and made it possible to tap into relationships that were already established rather than building an artist network from scratch.”

Their differing professional backgrounds also helped shape the exhibition. Gressel brought extensive experience in exhibition design, artist relations and public-facing curatorial projects, while Novotny contributed expertise in storytelling, public humanities and community-engaged scholarship. Together, they balanced responsibilities while maintaining a collaborative approach to key decisions.

Looking back, the pair credit flexibility and mutual understanding as essential to the project’s success.

“As mothers with professional commitments outside of the exhibition, we understood the need for flexibility and were intentional about respecting one another’s time, needs and boundaries,” they said.

“This shared understanding made it easier to communicate when one of us needed to step back or when the demands of our other work increased.”

What emerged from that partnership is an exhibition shaped not only by a shared vision, but also by years of trust, communication and collaboration. For Novotny and Gressel, “In a State of IF” demonstrates how creative partnerships can bridge distance, combine diverse expertise and bring ambitious projects to life.

In a State of IF runs through November 21, 2026. Learn more about the MIAD Galleries and exhibitions.