Architect Iker Gil and critic Mimi Zeiger have been selected for the inaugural 2020-2021 Curatorial Fellowship created by Exhibit Columbus. The pair is slated to co-curate the 2020 Exhibit Columbus Symposium as well as the 2021 Exhibit Columbus Exhibition.

Zeiger is a Los Angeles-based curator, critic, and editor, while Chicago-based Gil leads MAS Studio, the nonprofit MAS Context, and is also the executive director of the SOM Foundation. According to a press release announcing the selection, "Gil and Zeiger bring an extensive background in researching and creating exhibitions and publications around architecture and design through themes related to alternative histories of modernism, cities and the urgencies of civic space, resiliency, and connectivity."

Describing the goals of the Curatorial Fellowship, Exhibit Columbus Director Anne Surak explains, “Exhibit Columbus is excited to build upon its first two cycles by introducing new curatorial voices to the third iteration of the program through the Curatorial Fellowship. As curators, Mimi and Iker bring a great interest in Columbus’ design legacy and an enthusiasm for this city as a context for experimentation and collaboration.” 

Surak continued: “They also bring a deep understanding of the ways architecture and design, at a variety of scales, shape our cities and inform the ways we relate to each other. Now more than ever, this innovative addition allows us to strengthen our ability to engage locally, while simultaneously considering the program from a global perspective.”

In the coming months, Zeiger and Gil will create a curatorial theme for the two-year programming period entailed by the fellowship. They will also plan and execute the 2020 digital Symposium as well as the 2021 in-person Exhibition, which is currently scheduled to take place from August 20 to November 28, 2021. 

The pair explains: “What makes Columbus’ design history so unique is the investment in architecture as a social project. We are thrilled to join the Exhibit Columbus team and the Columbus community to shape conversations, installations, and research honoring this past, while recognizing the complex social and ecological issues facing American towns and cities at this very moment. And it is through architecture and design—through the symposium and exhibition—that we hope to explore meaningful and necessary ways forward.”