SWOON

Caledonia Curry, known as Swoon, is a contemporary artist and filmmaker recognized around the world for her pioneering vision of public artwork. Through intimate portraits, immersive installations, and multi-year community based projects, she has spent over 20 years exploring the depths of human complexity, and asking how art can fundamentally re-envision the communities we live in towards a more just and equitable world. 

She is best known as one of the first women street artists to gain international recognition in a male-dominated field, pushing its conceptual limits and paving the way for a generation. She has pushed the limits of the genre, expanding it to include broader definitions of public art and social practice, as well as challenging the male-dominated culture that has limited access, opportunities, and recognition for women. Her trailblazing work has paved the way for a new generation of women and gender non-conforming artists to make work in public space. As a classically trained printmaker, she has innovated new approaches to create large-scale relief prints and intricate papercut works.

The deep consideration of form is inseparable from Curry’s vision of the transformative role of public art in communities. Her critical engagement with issues of social and environmental justice have positioned her at the forefront of the emergent discourse around socially-engaged art practices. Her commitment to expanding the possibilities of art to repair trauma and foster personal and collective healing continues to drive her substantial contributions to contemporary art through her work with portraiture, sculpture, installation and most recently, stop-motion animation.