Nakai Falcon

Nakai Falcón  
Anthropology major, Art History and Psychology minors, Class of 2019
Current Employment: Whitney Museum of American Art

The field of anthropology was something I had a vague idea of when I arrived at Purchase, and it was only until taking an introductory course with Jason Pine my freshman year that I learned I had no idea what anthropology actually consisted of. The ability to learn from both individual and broader perspectives within familiar and unfamiliar cultures, providing tools to more effectively navigate the complexities of human experience and their histories. Anthropology motivated me to constantly grow and learn about new ways of seeing. During the end of my sophomore year, I realized I wanted to dedicate myself to a career working in the visual arts. Specifically towards curatorial practice, as I learned that this field provided an avenue to work alongside creatives to better understand the processes behind their art, communication, research, and building on experiences in dialogue with spaces that can educate viewers, with the potential to activate others into actionable change.

While attending Purchase, I would go on to pick up internships with art non-profit spaces, including the campus’ Neuberger Museum of Art, being their first interdepartmental intern, working between the curatorial, collections, and art handling departments. These experiences were vital to my overall lens today, where even in my work now, I still employ the modes of thinking I had been exposed to at Purchase from my mentor Pine and advisor, David Kim. I’ve gone on to curating exhibitions independently at various gallery spaces as well as joining the Whitney Museum of American Art’s curatorial department. I’d say my studies in anthropology provided me with a fluid lens constantly seeking out new perspectives when it comes to creative culture, and finding ways to initiate dialogues between artist and viewer that can lead to generative experiences of reflection. Hopefully, a way to establish support for underrepresented voices.