Topical Cream, the groundbreaking New York arts organization whose mission is to support the work of women and gender non-conforming contemporary artists, is pleased to announce the appointment of curator Ruba Katrib (she/her) as its 2023 Editor-in-Residence for its tenth anniversary.
Alongside her role as Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at MoMA PS1, Katrib will assume editorial direction of Topical Cream’s features, including commissioning essays and criticism, centering writing that engages a range of perspectives with a focus on cross-disciplinary and experimental approaches.
The Topical Cream Editor-in-Residence program was established in 2021 to expand institutional support for criticism and experimental journalism by diverse voices. Katrib is the third Topical Cream Editor-in-Residence, succeeding critic Laura McLean-Ferris (2022) and inaugural Editor-in-Residence Nora N. Khan (2021).
“The ten-year anniversary of Topical Cream is both a celebration and an urgent call-to-action. We are immensely proud of our community and collective progress. Still, there remains an immense gap in real support for women and gender non-conforming artists,” said Topical Cream Founder and Director Lyndsy Welgos (she/her). “We are thrilled to welcome Ruba Katrib as our 2023 Editor-in-Residence as we embark on a new decade of advocacy for a more equitable art world.”
“I greatly admire how Topical Cream creates a much-needed space for dialogue around contemporary art, anchoring the work of women-identifying and gender-non-conforming artists and writers. It is a privilege to be the 2023 Editor-in-Residence, and I am grateful for the opportunity to think deeply about artistic practices alongside writers. I am passionate about Topical Cream’s role as an outlet that stimulates reflection on artworks and ideas by opening up new, generative avenues for consideration. In line with my curatorial work at MoMA PS1, over this year, I will champion writing that engages a range of perspectives with a focus on cross-disciplinary and experimental approaches,” said Ruba Katrib, Topical Cream’s 2023 Editor-in-Residence.
The Topical Cream Editor-in-Residence program was developed in response to the urgent need for institutional support for criticism and experimental journalism as the pandemic shifted priorities within many publications and art organizations. Nominations for the residency were solicited from Topical Cream’s Board of Directors and advisors. Recently featured artists and contributors include Quinn Latimer, Ghislaine Leung, Annie Godfrey Larmon, Precious Okoyomon, Elvia Wilk, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Camille Henrot, Julia Tcharfas, Paige K. Bradley, and Nicole-Antonia Spagnola.
In 2021, Topical Cream launched an Art Writing Mentorship Program, now in collaboration with Exalt Youth. The program continues to expand thanks to the support of The Stolbun Foundation, The New York State Concil on the Arts, and The New York Department of Cultural Affairs.
About Ruba Katrib: 2023 Topical Cream Editor-in-Residence
Ruba Katrib is Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at MoMA PS1, New York. At PS1 she has curated exhibitions such as Jumana Manna: Break, Take, Erase, Tally (2022), Greater New York (2021), Niki de Saint Phalle: Structures for Life (2021), Simone Fattal’s retrospective in 2019, and solo shows for Edgar Heap of Birds (2019), Karrabing Collective (2019), Fernando Palma Rodríguez, and Julia Phillips (2018). From 2012-2018 she was the Curator at SculptureCenter in New York where she organized over twenty exhibitions including 74 million million million tons (2018) (co-organized with artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan) and solo shows of the work of Carissa Rodriguez, Kelly Akashi, Sam Anderson, Teresa Burga, Nicola L., Charlotte Prodger, Rochelle Goldberg, Aki Sasamoto, Cosima von Bonin, Anthea Hamilton, Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook, Magali Reus, Gabriel Sierra, Erika Verzutti, and David Douard. In 2018, Katrib co-curated SITE Santa Fe’s biennial, Casa Tomada, along with José Luis Blondet and Candice Hopkins. She regularly writes for periodicals and museum catalogs.
About Topical Cream
Topical Cream is a groundbreaking New York-based arts organization exclusively dedicated to elevating the vision of women and gender non-conforming contemporary artists through digital publishing and multiple high-impact programs. Controversial when first launched in 2013 as an online magazine countering art media’s problematic portrayal of female-identifying contemporary artists, Topical Cream is now an internationally respected organization for art criticism, editorial content, performance, and mentorship. The organization has evolved into a supportive ecosystem and now hosts progams including the Art Writing Mentorship Program, which supports system-impacted youth, the high-profile Editor-in-Residence program founded in 2021, and original video content such as the Rx Studio series. Topical Cream is the standard and collective record of women and gender non-conforming voices in contemporary art.
