
Keidra Daniels Navaroli
McKnight Doctoral Fellow, Texts & Technology PhD Program, University of Central Florida
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My Background
I am the former assistant director and curator of the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts at Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech), where I was responsible for overseeing daily operations; organizing exhibitions and exhibition-related programs; and working with other university units and public organizations to promote collaborative, interdisciplinary projects. These experiences inform my current research interests, which are focused on the intersections of academic museum practice, digital technologies, and underrepresented communities.
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I received my M.A. in the History and Criticism of Art from Florida State University (B.A. in Art History from the University of Florida); completed internships with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Sotheby’s Auction House in New York; and am an alumna of the Museum Leadership Institute’s NextGen Program. Recently, I was selected as a Constellation Leader for POLARIS: The Museum Mentor Network and currently serve on the boards for the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries and the Surface Design Association.
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Access my full CV here.
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Current Projects
Coauthor, This is America: Re-viewing the Art of the United States. This Oxford University Press publication is written with Dr. Keri Watson, Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Central Florida and Executive Editor for Panorama: Journal of the Association of Historians of American Art. The discipline of art history teaches that art fundamentally shapes our understanding of the world around us. To date, however, few survey textbooks of American art have challenged the hierarchical narratives that marginalize diverse makers, scholarship, and media. This is America offers a response and a corrective, focusing on the nation’s cultural hybridity and encouraging a re-viewing of American art that will change the way you see the world. OUT NOW! Learn more here!
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Guest Curator, "Chakaia Booker: Surface Pressure," Sarasota Art Museum, Ringling College of Art and Design. ON VIEW THROUGH OCTOBER 29! "Chakaia Booker: Surface Pressure" celebrates the diverse work of multimedia artist Chakaia Booker. Booker is renowned for her expert manipulation of unconventional materials, transforming perceived visual tensions into compellingly unified compositions. Her complex body of work challenges viewers to consider the nature of their relationships with one another and the world at large. "Surface Pressure" features over a dozen works, including prints, paintings, and monumental sculptures, from across the artist’s extensive career. Booker has received numerous awards and honors including a Guggenheim Fellowship and participation in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s prestigious biennial. Her works are housed in more than 40 public collections and have been exhibited across the United States, in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Learn more here!
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Guest Co-curator, "Intertwined: Labor and Technology in Contemporary Textile Art," Museum of Fine Arts, Florida State University. ON VIEW THROUGH DECEMBER 16! "Intertwined: Labor and Technology in Contemporary Textile Art" calls attention to the dynamism of textile-related practice through the work of contemporary artists including Fabiola Jean-Louis, Shaheer Zazai, Jeffrey Gibson, Carrie Sieh, Ahree Lee, Kate Nartker, Yvonne Osei, and Aaron Rothman, among others. Working across a variety of interdisciplinary lenses and media, these innovative artists explore themes of labor and agency that simultaneously highlight and subvert our expectations. By blurring the perceived boundaries of tradition in both tangible and intangible ways, this exhibition challenges viewers to consider new, inclusive possibilities for artmaking at a critical time. Learn more here!


"Chakaia Booker: Surface Pressure" Installation View, Sarasota Art Museum. Photo by Frances Grant.

"Intertwined" Installation View, MoFA, Florida State University. Photo by Ivan Peñafiel.