By Irene Mei Zhi Shum
Resilience is being creative during difficult times, adapting to unforeseen circumstances yet maintaining one’s values while finding a path forward. By its nature, it is hopeful and affirmative, but the process can be arduous and feel uncertain.
Through most of my career, I have had the fortune to work as a curator in art museums with endowments. In 2020, family commitments brought me back to the East Coast, and I accepted an appointment as the executive director of a small but well-regarded nonprofit art organization without a cash reserve and reliant on annual donations. The timing could not be worse: My moving truck arrived in New York City from Houston on March 9, days before the citywide pandemic shutdown. Working with the board of directors, we implemented numerous measures to stabilize the situation, but the economic downturn was too formidable, despite our best efforts. After careful deliberation, we voted to sunset the organization at the end of the year, at which point I found myself without employment.
I was not alone: According to the New York City Council, 96,900 artists were employed in July 2019, but in July 2020, only 29,800 were – a 69% decrease. In this environment, rather than search for employment, I decided to be entrepreneurial, initially working as an independent curator, opening a curatorial consultancy New Territories Art in 2021, before founding the Williamsburg Biannual, an artist space in Brooklyn, in 2023.
I credit my studies in Architecture and Art History at Barnard for fostering my creativity and introducing me to design thinking, an iterative approach to problem solving that continues until a solution is reached, a practice that I have applied throughout my career.
Born out of necessity, this chapter of my career has been unexpectedly fulfilling and transformative, as I finally achieved (somewhat) work-life balance that hitherto had been elusive. I have been able to do what I love, while taking care of family needs and responsibilities. Proudly, I produced some of my most meaningful work in the last five years. Land of the Free, my largest exhibition thus far, explored migration at Mana Contemporary in 2022; and opening the Williamsburg Biannual during the period of slow recovery, was an affirmation of my belief in the arts to uplift and enlighten individuals and the vital role of artists in society, as well as my love and commitment to the City of New York as the world’s preeminent arts center.
The Williamsburg Biannual provides a place for New York City’s creative professionals to socialize, gather, present their work, and exchange ideas. I have particularly enjoyed building community through collaborations with other organizations and schools. As we enter our second year this fall and become eligible for state and municipal grant funding, we plan to start fundraising and building out our operations.
Personally, I have drawn inspiration from my first employer after college, the late trailblazer Marcia Tucker, who founded the New Museum in 1977 after working at the Whitney, whose work always centered around the artist.
There are countless adages and quotes that speak of resilience. JFK’s 1959 convocation of United Negro College Fund has special resonance for me as a Chinese American: “When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters – one represents danger and one represents opportunity.” The characters are 危機 (wēijī). Separately, 危 (wēi) indeed means "danger," but 機 (jī) means both “opportunity” and “critical point.” In life, one will inevitably encounter adverse conditions and experience critical points of hardship, questioning and doubt.
The task is to remain undaunted, allowing oneself to pause, reflect, refresh; to make adjustments, pivot, and change as needed; to create opportunities when none are apparent. Dig deep. Be brave. Believe. You’ve got this.
And as a Barnard alumna, there’s nothing you can’t do.