Jean Cooney, Director at Times Square Arts, one of the largest platforms for public art, is joined by Natasha Logan, Deputy Director at Creative Time, and Sheetal Prajapati, Principal and Founder at Lohar Projects. These leaders in the field of contemporary art and public engagement will discuss how they work to address some of the most complex and timely issues of our current social and political landscape, and share their experiences and collegial collaborations across various forums and venues.
$5 Members | $15 Non-Members
About Jean Cooney
Jean Cooney spent 7 years at Creative Time as Project Manager, Director of Public Projects and, most recently, Deputy Director, playing a lead role in the organization’s major artist commissions, the Creative Time Summit, public programming and engagement initiatives, and cultural partnerships. During her tenure, Jean was central to some of Creative Time’s most iconic public projects, including Nick Cave’s HEARD•NY in Grand Central Terminal, Kara Walker’s A Subtlety at the former Domino Sugar factory, and Duke Riley’s Fly By Night at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. She has worked with some of the leading contemporary artists of our time, including Nick Cave, Kara Walker, Sophie Calle, Simone Leigh, Pedro Reyes, Phil Collins, Xenobia Bailey, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Trevor Paglen, and Suzanne Lacy.
In the spirit of Times Square Arts’ commitment to forging great cultural partnerships, Jean brings a history of doing just that, bringing her history of working with a diverse range of arts institutions and social justice organizations, including the Brooklyn Museum, New York Public Library, MTA Arts for Transit, Weeksville Heritage Center, the Fortune Society; and in New York City’s most iconic spaces, including Central Park, Grand Central Terminal, Green-Wood Cemetery, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and the Brooklyn Army Terminal; as well as abroad at the Venice Biennial and Art Basel.
Jean has extensive experience working with artists, communities, and city agencies to stage public projects addressing some of the most complex and timely issues of our current social and political landscape, including work related to race, gender, the criminal justice system, public health, immigration, and environmental justice. Her production expertise spans a diverse range of artistic mediums, including performance, large-scale sculpture, participatory installation, video, and publications; and she has worked with artists’ projects that used unconventional materials and modes of presentation — including sugar, pigeons, boats, an ice cream truck, a haunted house, a school-turned-nightclub, a radical medical clinic, sandcastles, and a gravesite.
Prior to joining Creative Time she lived and worked in the Bay Area in galleries, restaurants, and as a freelance producer and curator. She holds a Masters Degree in Visual Arts Administration from New York University, and a B.A. in International Relations from Boston University.
About Natasha Logan
Natasha L. Logan is the Deputy Director at Creative Time. Since joining the team in 2016, she has held numerous roles including Project Manager to Director of Programming. Since then, she has contributed to several recent large-scale exhibitions, including Duke Riley’s Fly by Night (2016), Pedro Reyes’ Doomocracy (2016), Sophie Calle’s Here Lie the Secrets… (2017), Pledges of Allegiance (2018), and Phil Collins’ Bring Down the Walls (2018).
Before working at Creative Time, Natasha worked alongside respected artists across film, fine art, and interactive technology. She led Hank Willis Thomas’s studio and collaborative initiatives. She managed ongoing projects including Question Bridge and In Search of The Truth (The Truth Booth), as well as national commissions. Her film credits include co-executive producing An Oversimplification of Her Beauty by Terence Nance and transmedia producer for the documentary film American Promise, which earned a 2014 Doc Impact award.
From 2007-2011, Natasha served as the Assistant Director of Career Development at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where she met and advised hundreds of emerging artists between NYC and Los Angeles.
Logan is the co-editor of Question Bridge: Black Males in America alongside Dr. Deborah Willis, which was published by Aperture Foundation in 2015. She graduated with a BA in English Literature and African American Studies from the University of Virginia.
About Sheetal Prajapati
Sheetal Prajapati is an educator, artist and advisor working across the field of art and public engagement. Born in Buffalo, New York, Sheetal is a first generation Indian American. Before moving to New York in 2010, Sheetal studied, lived and worked in Chicago for 12 years after growing up in Kentucky.
Sheetal is currently on faculty at School of Visual Arts (New York) in the MFA Fine Arts program and works as an advisor and consultant in the field through her agency Lohar Projects.
Previously, Sheetal served as the first Director of Public Engagement at Pioneer Works in Red Hook, Brooklyn until September 2018. There she led strategy for public engagement across the institution leading a division including visitors services, programming and partnerships. From 2010-2016, she worked in the education department of The Museum of Modern Art, serving as the Assistant Director, Learning and Artists Initiatives (2014-2016). There, she collaborated with a range of artists to develop experimental public programs, projects and interventions. From 2007 to 2010, she served as Director of Educational Programs at the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University. Prior to that Sheetal worked at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (2004-2007) where she redeveloped the family and youth programs division.
As an artist, Sheetal has held residencies at Pocoapoco, Wassaic Project, Haystack Mountain School of Craft, and The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts among others. Her work has been presented at EFA Project Space (NYC), Elsewhere Museum (Greensboro, NC), Denny Gallery (NYC), and The Galleries at Moore (Philadelphia). In 2019, she was a nominee for the Emerging Artist Award through the Rema Hort Mann Foundation in New York.
She received a Bachelor of Arts in History and Gender Studies from Northwestern University and a Master of Arts in Arts Administration and Policy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
About Colleagues & Friends
The Colleagues and Friends breakfast series invites established women in the art world to have conversations about their current positions, career paths, and professional relationships. The program is generously hosted by Emigrant Bank Fine Art Finance, a subsidiary of Emigrant Bank (Member FDIC, founded 1850) and its subsidiary, Fine Art Asset Management (Member APAA, AAA). Emigrant Bank Fine Art Finance is a leading provider of loans secured by paintings, drawings, sculpture, wine, classic cars, stringed instruments, and other passion assets. Fine Art Asset Management provides independent, conflict-free, expert art advisory services, and USPAP compliant appraisals.