About

Lauren Jackson Harris is a fine art management professional, independent curator, and project manager from Atlanta, GA. After earning her BFA in Graphic Design and Art History from Howard University, Lauren quickly immersed herself in New York City’s gallery scene in addition to the growing fine arts landscape in Washington, DC.

With an MA in Creative Business Leadership from SCAD, she uses her innovative strategies and progressive ideas to help ignite the arts community and create new avenues for artists. Lauren has worked as the Gallery Manager and Curator of ZuCot Gallery, a black-owned fine art gallery exhibiting the works of notable Black artists. She has also worked with the Atlanta University Center Art History + Curatorial Studies Collective, a program that prepares undergraduates for careers in the visual arts.

In 2019, she co-founded Black Women in Visual Art, an organization that connects, cultivates, and serves Black women arts professionals. With BWVA, Lauren builds partnerships and develops programs that create further visibility and opportunity for Black women in art. As an independent arts worker, Harris has curated exhibitions and art experiences with organizations and art spaces such as For Freedoms, Facebook, MINT Gallery, Day & Night Gallery, The Gathering Spot, Stay Home Gallery, Living Walls, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, and more. Harris also serves as the Co-Chair for the Beltline Public Art Advisory Council, a member of the Board of Directors for Dashboard, and as a Board member for Tessera Arts Collective, and is an active arts advocate consulting with artists on their practice and career-based opportunities.

In June 2022, Lauren joined SCAD Atlanta as the Director of Art Sales, working to elevate the talents of SCAD creatives into the greater landscape. As of June 2023, Lauren embraced her 15 years of art world experience to work as a consult with artists to advise on strategic development in their careers and practice, curate impactful exhibitions, and produce special projects with organizations and art spaces across the globe. Continuing to navigate the industry as a multi-faceted arts worker, Lauren offers excellence and knowledge to various platforms and programs for artists and art spaces in Atlanta and beyond.

View Full CV

Current Projects

Guest Curator for the Ingaurural Atlanta Art Fair, Oct 3-6 2024

Exhibition Checklist

Art Market Productions (AMP), a division of a21, is pleased to announce guest curators and cultural partners for the inaugural edition of Atlanta Art Fair, the first global art fair for one of the fastest-growing art hubs in the United States. Atlanta Art Fair will take place from October 3 – 6, 2024, at Pullman Yards and partner with over 30 institutions. To further forefront local voices in its programming, Atlanta Art Fair’s Artistic Director Nato Thompson will be joined by Atlanta-based guest curators Lauren Jackson Harris and Karen Comer Lowe. Both women are firmly embedded within the Atlanta art scene and have long histories of championing underrepresented voices in the arts. Harris, an independent curator and creative director from Atlanta, co-founded Black Women in Visual Art, which connects, cultivates, and serves Black women arts professionals. “It was pivotal to us to collaborate with Atlanta-based curators who are deeply embedded within the city’s art scene and who can respond to the pressing needs of the arts community. Lauren and Karen have been instrumental in guiding our curatorial approach to the fair and strengthening ties with local stakeholders.

“Being on the Curatorial Team of the inaugural Atlanta Art Fair means I can continue amplifying this city's diverse talent and dynamic creative voices. The antiquated term “genteel” presented itself to me in my curatorial process, and each artist embodies a refined sense of pride in their materials and narratives. In my selection of works from these five Georgia-based artists, the audience will be charged to find a common thread within their visual identities and modalities.” -Lauren Jackson Harris

Artist Talk

Being a Southern Artist < register!

Sunday, October 6, 2024 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

The Atlanta Art Fair Theater, Pullman Yards, 225 Rogers St NE Atlanta, GA 30317

Learn More

View Press Release

RADICAL UNITY - Artist Call for Public Art, June - October 2024: State Director

An initiative of the Mediators Foundation, Project: Radical Unity, is a call for proposals from creatives across Georgia. We are seeking artists, writers, musicians, performers, and creatives of all mediums to submit proposals that engage the community in our common humanity and work to strengthen the civic fabric. In collaboration with Georgia’s arts and culture community and civic engagement organizations, we will select four individuals to each receive a 15,000 stipend to produce their creative work. The deadline for submission is June 15th, and projects must be completed by October 6th, 2024.

Radical Unity was formed to launch a creative expressions roadmap that engages various communities in exciting and unexpected new ways across various platforms. This pilot program hopes to explore our common humanity, which inspires our collective consciousness. All mediums of creative expression are welcome. Four individuals in Georgia will be selected from the pool of applicants by a committee representing Georgia’s arts and culture community as well as civic engagement organizations. We are particularly interested in proposals that engage communities to build bridges across differences and stress our shared humanity.

PRESS RELEASE