Makeda Lewis-Kinuthia has joined Day & Night Projects, the artist-run gallery near downtown Atlanta, as co-director, stepping into a leadership role alongside founders William Downs and Steven L. Anderson.
Day & Night Projects has long positioned itself as a non-commercial space where artists can exhibit without the pressure of sales, where the Atlanta artist community can gather, and where the gallery can trade exhibitions with peers around the world. Lewis-Kinuthia arrives with a resume that matches that mission. She’s an Atlanta-based artist and “casual documentarian,” a Georgia State graduate, a former MINT gallery administrator, and the current program manager at Atlanta Center for Photography. Day & Night audiences might also remember her October 2024 solo exhibition, and love was a burning fence about my house.
“I intend to keep curiosity, transparency, kindness and boundaries as top priorities in this role. I’m really looking forward to expanding my knowledge of Atlantas artists, creators and community members and taking their history, expertise, interests, and experiences into account.”
Day & Night projects co-director Makeda Lewis-Kinuthia
Below Lewis-Kinuthia shares what “co-director” looks like inside an artist-run space, why these smaller rooms matter, and what she hopes to build as Day & Night approaches its 10th anniversary.
Q: What role do artist-run spaces like Day & Night play in a city’s arts ecosystem?
A: Small artist-run spaces have a unique opportunity to produce public programming and exhibitions that are both closely aligned with community voices and flexible for supporting experimental and transitional stages in artists’ practices, allowing more room for collaboration and building networks of resource-sharing and critical thought that center more grassroots growth over institutional oversight. Additionally, surrounding communities have the chance to engage more directly with artists and art spaces around them by feeling a sense of responsibility and ownership for what manifests in the space.
Q: You’ve worked as a gallery administrator at MINT and currently serve as Program Manager at Atlanta Center for Photography. How do those experiences inform the way you approach leadership at Day & Night?
A: I intend to keep curiosity, transparency, kindness and boundaries as top priorities in this role. I’m really looking forward to expanding my knowledge of Atlantas artists, creators and community members and taking their history, expertise, interests, and experiences into account.
Q: You’re both an artist and now a co-director. How do you balance supporting other artists’ visions while maintaining your own creative practice?
A: I do my best to be honest about my capacity. I give what I can, and I don’t give what I can’t. I try to prioritize time for research, experimentation and zoning out, so I can show up as my best self in support of other people!
Q: Day & Night is approaching its 10th anniversary. What does guiding the organization toward a compelling future look like in practical terms?
A: In full transparency, we feel excited to come to conclusions about what the next decade and beyond looks like … our focus is on expanding financial support through fundraising and increasing production of internally-led public programming and opportunities for engagement. Additionally, we’re interested in developing more intimate artist opportunities outside of exhibition schedule, such as skill shares and longer term education. We hope to foster more connection with local community members in Atlanta and … connection with our immediate neighbors and community members in West End and Mechanicsville.
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Q: Independent spaces often serve as testing grounds for emerging artists and curators. What kinds of risks can a space like Day & Night take that larger institutions may not be positioned to take?
A: Because Day & Night’s programming and operations are directly funded by the co-directors and any proceeds from art sales, there’s more flexibility to highlight work and engagements based on things like experimental material practices, innovative or critical thought, cultural commentary and exploration or communal collaboration, while keeping things like barriers to access and placemaking in focus.