Michele Bosak (Chicago, IL) is a curator currently based in Grand Rapids, MI. She holds an MFA from Northern Illinois University in Drawing and Museum Studies, where she was the recipient of the Medici Award and a Distinguished University Fellowship. Since 2013 she's fulfilled the role as Curator of Exhibitions for Kendall College of Art & Design. Working for a non-collecting institution, she curates original exhibitions and programming designed to engage both academics and the local community.
Michele encourages a deeper awareness of contemporary creation and showcases a diverse cross-section of challenging contemporary works from both artists and designers who are good humans and who reflect on the positive impacts they can create in varied social, cultural, political and economic interests. She examines contemporary discourses at the intersection of art, design, and technology with an emphasis on women and queer culture.
As an experienced artist, Michele has great insight into the guidance and management of artists throughout the creative process and serves as a mentor to both students and peers. In addition to curating independently and institutionally for the past ten years, she is also an art and design consultant.
Photo Credit: Matt Gubancsik
Artist: Juile Green, The Last Supper
E D U C A T I O N
Master of Fine Arts, Drawing / Sculpture
Museum Studies Certification,
Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, IL
University Fellowship Recipient and Medici Award for Graduate Achievement
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Sculpture
Kendall College of Art and Design, Grand Rapids, MI
Academic Honors
C U R A T O R I A L
Curator of Exhibitions, Fed Galleries at Kendall College of Art and Design, Grand Rapids, MI
2019 IGNITE: Emerging Curator Project
Surface Matters: Designing for the Body, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
2018 She Stares Back, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Focus on KCAD | Collections, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Focus on Faculty | Influence, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
The Sum of Its Parts - Jason Peters, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
2017 Resort - Andrew Ellis Johnson and Susanne Slavick, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Knockoffs: Originality, Theft, and Everything In Between, Curator, Exhibition Designer
Society of Spectacle, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Shape of Self | Work by Riva Lehrer, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Sentimental Ornamentation, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Left Behind | Work by Jennifer Loeber, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
2016 Cultural Landscapes, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Thukral + Tagra: Walk of Life, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Ripple Effect: From Industry to Environment in the Kalamazoo River Basin
Darshan | Seeing, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
2015 Sightlines, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Evolution of the Artist, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
2014 Humor in Craft, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Shifting Landscapes | Work by Michael Pfleghaar, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Michigan Modern: Killing It, Co-Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Money Matters, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Assuming Positions, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Always New, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
2013 Graphic Design: Now in Production (Traveling) Coordinator
Contemporaries: Then and Now, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Designed to Win, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
2012 Progressions: Syd Mead, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Role/Play, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Drawn: Kim Cridler and Jonathan Wahl, Coordinator, Exhibition Designer
Acts of Recognition, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
2011 Then Again, Maybe Not, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Cosmic Theater | Selected Works by Michiko Itatani, Curator, Exhibition Design
2010 Justin Quinn; Recent Works, Coordinator, Exhibition Designer, Kendall Gallery
Ethan Murrow: Drawings and Prints, Curator, Coordinator
2009 Kelli Connell: Photographs, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Visual Arts Curatorial Associate, Urban Institute for Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids, MI
2010 dis.place.ment, Lead Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
2009 Material Afterlife, Lead Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
2007 BEing OPEN: 30 Years, 30 Artists, 30, Careers, Lead Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator,
2006 Drawing No Conclusions: A Survey of Contemporary Drawing, Lead Curator, Exhibition
Designer, Coordinator
Awards Juror: Dominic Molon, Curator Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
Undercover: An Exhibition of Artists’ Books, Co-Curator, Organizer
Succession: A Painting Exhibition, Co-Curator, Organize
2005 Exposure X 9, Co-Curator, Organizer
2004 Fresh Materials, Co-Curator, Organizer
(Re)Narrate, Co-Curator, Organizer
New Abstractions, Co-Curator, Organizer
2003 The Funnel, Co-Curator
Museum Exhibitions Assistant, Northern Illinois Museum of Art, DeKalb, IL
2008 Gabriel Bizen Akagawa: CrateSpace, Coordinator
Peggy Macnamara: Nature Paintings, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
Revisiting Modern Japanese Prints, Organizer
Ayomi Yoshida: Yedoensis, Organizer
2007 Josef Albers Formulation: Articulation Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
A Common Line: Figuration in Drawing, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator, Gallery 2 Uncertainty Principle: Drawing in the Golden Age of Worry, Coordinator
Message Sent…, Curator, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator, Gallery 214
Mark Arctander: Surveillance, Exhibition Designer, Coordinator
2006 Blue Sky, Black Earth: Meditations on the Meeting of the Sky and Land, Exhibition Designer,
Organizer
E X H I B I T I O N S
2015 Queering, Group Exhibition, Spiral Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
2013 Variations On A Line, Group Exhibition, Grand Rapids, MI
10
Installation Nation, Group Exhibition, Primary Colours, Indianapolis, IN
Slide Wars, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI
ArtPrize, Old Federal Building, Grand Rapids, MI
NEVER THINK small!, Group Exhibition, Climate/Gallery, Long Island, NY
2009 Little Hang Ups, Group Exhibition, Bryneboehm Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
Mixed Bag, Group Exhibition, Gallery 104, Grand Rapids, MI
Cross-Pollination, Group Exhibition, Surface Gallery, Bakersfield, CA
2010 Site Lab, Grand Rapids, MI
Death Wins, Richard App Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
whereabouts, Two-person exhibition with Kim Strom, Cave44, Challex, France
(a)wake, Group Exhibition, 89 Ionia, Grand Rapids, MI
2011 Associations, Group Exhibition, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids,
10 x 10 : UNIFORM, Group Exhibition, Suite 100 Gallery, Seattle, WA
Pile Up, Group Exhibition, Chicago Arts District Exhibitions Space, Chicago , IL
The Space Foundation in partnership with UICA, Grand Rapids and Detroit, MI
19th Annual Women of Achievement and Courage Celebration, The Michigan Women's
2008 Mountain: A Force of Faketure, Group Exhibition, Beverly Arts Center, Chicago, IL
Between Us, Solo Exhibition, Gallery Noir, Grand Rapids, MI,
The Space Between Us, MFA Exhibition, 214 Gallery, DeKalb, IL
The Polish Connection, Group Exhibition, Nehring Gallery, DeKalb, IL
Gabriel Bizen Akagawa: Unpacked/Offset, Group Exhibition, Collaboration with Jessica Witte,
NIU Art Museum, Rotunda Gallery, DeKalb, IL
2007 Getting Closer, Two-person Exhibition with Kelly Allen, Byrneboehm Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
Pamiatki, Akademia Sztuk Piknych w Katowicach, Katowice, Poland
A Common Line, Group Exhibition, Gallery 214, DeKalb, IL
Conception, Group Exhibition, Pleasant Street Gallery, DeKalb, IL
Message Sent…, Group Exhibition, Gallery 214, DeKalb, IL
Postcard Salon Exhibition, Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI
2006 Sculpture Review, Group Exhibition, Pleasant Street Gallery, DeKalb, IL
Breaking Ground, Group Exhibition, #9 Design, Elmhurst, IL
Group Graduate Show, Pleasant Street Gallery, DeKalb, IL
Memoir, Group Exhibition, Blue Door Gallery, DeKalb, IL
Green Space, Group Exhibition, Courtyard Installation, Jack Arends School of Art NIU,DeKalb, IL
Recycled Moments, Solo Exhibition, Bad Dog Gallery, DeKalb, IL
Space 1, Group Exhibition, Free Radical Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
Kitties, Cats, and Hand Grenades, Group Exhibition, Pleasant Street Gallery, DeKalb, IL
Women’s History, Group Exhibition, Dekalb Area Women’s Gallery, DeKalb, IL
Graduate Group Exhibition, Jack Olson Gallery, DeKalb, IL
2005 Jekyll & Hyde, Group Exhibition, Pleasant Street Gallery, DeKalb, IL
2004 A Common Dialogue, Visual Arts Committee Collaborative Exhibition, Urban Institute for
Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids, MI
2003 Observation of the Flesh, Two-Person Exhibition, Student Gallery, Kendall College of Art And
Design
2002 5 x 5 x 5, Group Exhibition, Lo-Fi Project Site, Grand Rapids, MI
S E L E C T E D J U R I E D E X H I B I T I O N S
2007 Juried Group Graduate Exhibition, Jack Olson Gallery (Nov/Dec), Northern Illinois University,
Dekalb, IL
Juror: Tim Lowly, Professor of Fine Art, North Park University, Chicago, IL
Juried Group Graduate Exhibition, Jack Olsen Gallery, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL
Juror: Adelheid Mers, Professor New Media, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL
31st Annual Rock Island Fine Arts Exhibition, Augustana College Art Museum, Rock Island, IL
Juror: Sharon Rosenzweig
Honorable Mention
2005 19th West Michigan Regional Competition, Lowell Area Arts Council, Lowell, MI
Juror: Mark Chatterley, Professor of Fine Art, Central Michigan University
Change of Seasons Juried Exhibition, White River Gallery, Montague, MI
Juror: Ken Foster, Department Chair, Muskegon Community College
2nd Place Award
2004 44th Annual Greater Michigan Art Exhibition, Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art, MI
Juror: Al Gury, Head of Painting Department, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art
Wee Show, Collegiate Juried Exhibition, Front Street Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
Juror: Paris Tennenhouse, Curator, Grand Valley State University
1st Place Award
All-Michigan All-Media Juried Exhibition 2004, Rankin Art Gallery, Big Rapids, MI
Juror: Robert L. Barnum, Professor of Fine Art, Ferris State University
2003 75th Regional Juried Exhibition, Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI
Juror: David Butler, Director of Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University
A W A R D S
2017 Outstanding Venue Award, ArtPrize. Juror: Larry Ossei-Mensah
2014 Outstanding Venue Award, ArtPrize. Juror: Alice Gray-Stites
2007-8 University Fellowship, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL
2005-8 Graduate Tuition Waiver, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL
2007 Medici Award for graduate Achievement, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL
2006 1st Place Award. 6th Annual Artist Battle, A Regional Competition for Best Local Artist
Studio 280 at The Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (UICA), Grand Rapids, MI
2005 2nd Place Award. Change of Seasons Juried Exhibition, White River Gallery, Montague, MI
Kendall Alumni Community Service Award Nomination, Grand Rapids, MI
2004 1st Place Award. Wee Show, Collegiate Juried Exhibition, Front Street Gallery,
Grand Rapids, MI
2003-4 Student Leadership Award, Fine Arts Department, Kendall College of Art and Design,
Grand Rapids, MI
2001-4 Ferris State University Grant, Kendall College of Art and Design, Grand Rapids, MI
Merit Scholarship, Kendall College of Art and Design, Grand Rapids, MI
Dean’s List, Kendall College of Art and Design, Grand Rapids, MI
2001 Michigan Tuition Grant, Kendall College of Art and Design, Grand Rapids, MI
B I B L I O G R A P H Y
Rockman, Deborah, Drawing Essentials: A Guide to Drawing from Observation, Oxford University Press, 2008
NIU Graduate Group Exhibition Catalog, 2005, p.6
Kendall College of Art and Design Catalog, 2003, p.65-66
Kendall College of Art and Design Woodworking and Functional Art Program Catalog, 2002, p.7
Kim Theriault, 5x5x5 Catalog, sponsored by Lo-Fi Project Site, 2002, p.12
2007 Independent Study Abroad, Cairo
2008 96th Annual CAA Conference, Dallas, TX
AS220 Practice/Practice2009 97th Annual CAA Conference, Los Angeles, CA
P R O F E S S I O N A L CONFERENCES / TRAVEL Study Abroad in Poland, Academy of Fine Arts,
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, WI
11th Biennial FATE (Foundations in Art: Theory and Education) Conference, Hosted by the
Luxor, EgyptKatowiceand..
95th Annual CAA (College Art Association) Conference, New York, NY
2005 93rd Annual CAA (College Art Association) Conference, Atlanta, GA
P R O F E S S I O N A L DEVELOPMENT
2002- Visual Arts Curatorial Committee Member, Urban Institute for Contemporary Art
2008- Preparator and Graphic Designer, Grand Valley State University Art Gallery, Allendale, MI
2006-8 Preparator, Northern Illinois University Art Museum, Dekalb, IL
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Skills