Hi everyone, my name is Tori Currier and I am excited to intern at Critical Bounds this summer. I am a first-generation college student who transferred to Smith College last fall. I am an Art History major with a focus on LGBTQ+ art, but my studies began at Holyoke Community College in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

HCC offers a program called “Learning Communities.” Learning Communities give students from many walks of life the opportunity to take courses at local 4-year universities, like Smith College. During my time at HCC, I was fortunate enough to take a Learning Community that met at Smith. The course was about “the New York School,” a group of experimental visual artists, writers, musicians, and dancers in 1950’s and 1960’s New York. In these courses alongside Smith students, I discovered my capability and passion for art history. I am particularly passionate about the art of artists who have been traditionally marginalized, like those from the LGBTQ+ community, and women artists of the New York School. (One of Elaine de Kooning’s self-portraits is framed on my bedroom wall.)

At Smith, I have become especially focused on the art of the AIDS crisis. I am using my practice to spotlight the influence of AIDS crisis art on art today and challenge the societal assumption that HIV/AIDS is a virus of the past instead of an ongoing epidemic.

Under ‘read more’ you can find some of the artists and works that inform my practice.

As a creative writer working toward a career in higher education, I am also passionate about alternative modes of education, like historical fiction. Presently, I am developing a television screenplay about LGBTQ+ artists during the 1960’s - 1980’s, hoping to educate younger generations about the community’s history and the social roles that art has played.