Dina Weiss is a New York City-based artist, curator, and educator with over twenty years of experience supporting artists of all ages and stages in their creative development. She has led educational programs at colleges, museums, and cultural institutions with a commitment to fostering inclusive interdisciplinary practices. She has invested in how artists, designers, and cultural producers can effectively harness their creativity to drive meaningful social change.

Currently, she is the Chair of Art & Art History, Director of the Judith Mara Carson Center for Visual Arts, and an Associate Professor of Art at Marymount Manhattan College. Previously, she was the Director of School, Youth, & Family Programs at the Guggenheim Museum, and for over a decade, she served as the Assistant Chair of Fine Arts and an Associate Professor at Pratt Institute. Overseeing the MFA and BFA programs, working on public programming and outreach, serving on curriculum committees, and developing new educational initiatives for students, faculty, and alumni. Before that, she was the Executive Director of Artists Alliance, Inc., and Director of Cuchifritos Gallery & Project Space, where she now serves as the Chair of the Board. Weiss has also taught at Parsons School of Design and served as an Education Consultant at the New Museum, contributing a chapter to Rethinking Contemporary Art and Multicultural Education (Routledge/New Museum). Additionally, she worked as an Education Coordinator at the Museum of Arts and Design, The Drawing Center, and Dia Art Foundation, expanding arts access for NYC public schools and local communities. These roles have provided a wealth of administrative experience, educational and academic knowledge, and a strong understanding of the complexities and nuances of arts education and program leadership.

A recent co-curatorial project, Textures of Feminist Perseverance, was on view at the James Gallery at the CUNY Graduate Center and at Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space. Weiss has received grants and awards from Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, and the College Art Association. And other exhibition venues include Silver Art Projects, NYC; Equity Gallery, NY; Orwell’s Garden, Brooklyn, NY; San Diego Contemporary Museum of Art, CA; Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, NY; The LAB, San Francisco, CA; Untitled Space, New Haven, CT; and Art in General, NYC. Her works are held in public collections at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, and the West Collection, Philadelphia, PA.  Weiss holds an M.F.A. in Sculpture from Parsons School of Art & Design and a B.S. in Studio Art from New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.

Artist Statement:

My practice encompasses weaving, sewing, drawing, painting, sculpture, and photography. I engage in a tactile dialogue through materials and media as a way to respond to the urban landscape and adjacent interior spaces. New York City has been my home for more than two decades, and during this time, I've undertaken extensive documentation of it. My lens captures the grandiose landmarks and the often-overlooked, mundane facets of city life. In my archive, one can find a trove of photographs that immortalize iconic structures and the discarded remnants of urban existence strewn upon sidewalks.

I am an archivist and a flâneuse, a wanderer who navigates the urban terrain. My work is grounded in feminism and urban theory as a response to my lived experiences as a city dweller and a woman.  I utilize traditional crafts to explore the interwoven relationship between interior and exterior spaces. This provides the sustaining energy, as I continue to examine the complex interplay between the city and its inhabitants.

Arts Education Administration, Curatorial, and Teaching Experience: