Oral History Interview with Coralie Claeysen-Gleyzon, Chief Curator of the Orlando Museum of Art

It’s really exciting to me that Orlando is a young city. It’s like a teenage city still trying to find itself. The art scene is actually really exciting because we can play a part in actually helping to shape it, which most cities that are internationally renowned in the world, you can’t do that. You know, it’s already established. You’re only just bringing a drop. But here, you have a bigger chance to make a difference. Excerpt from an Oral History Interview with Coralie Claeysen Gleyzon, Chief Curator of the Orlando Museum of Art.

Coralie Claeysen-Gleyzon is the Cottrell and Lovett Chief Curator of the Orlando Museum of Art. She has served in leadership positions at OMA for six and a half years as Associate Curator, and Interim Chief of Collections and Exhibitions. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Culture Media and Communication, and a Master of Arts degree in Visual Culture from Lancaster University. Coralie Claeysen-Gleyzon worked as Gallery Director at the Third Line Gallery in Doha, Qatar which is an expansion of the Dubai Third Line contemporary art platform for Middle Eastern art and culture. In this position she had the honor of working with Iranian artist Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian and other Middle Eastern artists living in the U.S. and throughout the world. Coralie has extensive experience creating exhibitions from “the ground up” generating from her work as Creative Projects Manager at Urbis, a non-collecting museum of contemporary urban art in Manchester, United Kingdom. She has international experience working as an independent art advisor. For example, in Beirut she worked with British artists Anderson and Lo pursuing international exposure in an Asian market, with the Beirut Exhibition Center, and the American University Art Department in Beirut. Coralie Claeysen-Gleyzon continues to work as an independent art consultant with international artists and collectors in Florida and around the globe. 

We welcome you to listen and be inspired by the voice and experiences of Coralie Claeysen-Gleyzon:

Good morning, Jane, thank you for having me. My name is Coralie Claeysen-Gleyzon, you can say Gleyzon as well you know can anglicize it. I was born in France. I was born in Burgundy in a beautiful medieval town called Semur-en-Auxois, so it’s a complicated name, but it’s a very beautiful little town with a bucolic landscape and a beautiful medieval bridge.

Is that where you grew up?

I actually did not. At the time my family was located in Africa, in Niger which is in the heart of the Sahara Desert. My grandparents lived there and my parents lived there. And so my mother, when she was pregnant with me, she flew back to France to give birth because at the time there was no obstetrician in the village where we lived in Africa. So she flew back to France, gave birth in France, where her parents had their family home, and stayed maybe a month, you know, after my birth. And then we flew back to Africa, to Niger together. So I actually grew up in Niger and I was there until 1987. I spent the first eight years of my life in Niger.

What did your parents do for a living?

My mother was a stay at home mom, which is a job in itself. She raised four children. I’m number three of those four. But she actually went to school for psychology. So she did a bit of psychology. She actually worked as a banker before meeting my dad. And then eventually raised her four children. And then my father was actually trained as a geologist. He did some paleontology as well at the same time. But he became an engineer and actually worked in the mining industry.

So both your parents were actually French and they were there because of work?

Yes, absolutely. My dad was there because of work. Mining industry in France is mostly coal industry, so my ancestors, my grandparents actually worked both in the coal mining in the north of France. My father worked eventually for the same company, but in uranium mining in Niger.

He sounds very smart.

Did you know your grandparents?

I did. Yes, I was lucky enough to have them most of my childhood and late teen years which was wonderful. You know I really value our ancestors, their knowledge and family history is of great importance to me. So I actually knew all of my four grandparents.

So what was a typical Sunday like, would you have Sunday dinner, what would you do?

That’s a great question and I’ll talk about Sunday in Africa because those are my earliest memories. Sunday in Africa was a really laid back day. You know there was the compulsory nap in the afternoon because it gets really hot in the afternoon, so everybody would need to nap.

Coca-Cola

But then I always remember my dad, there was a ritual in the afternoon when we would finally be able and allowed to drink a Coca-Cola. So my Sunday afternoons were the only time we were allowed to have a sip of soda. But it was beautiful. I remember just spending time in the garden with my dad mostly, and the cat under his feet. I have vivid memories of those moments.

Church on Sundays in Africa and France

And then in France, when we moved back to France, Sundays are an entirely different ritual. Of course, my family is a Catholic family, so we would go to Church on Sundays in Africa as well in a beautiful adobe Church. I have some of my earliest childhood memories in that Church. And then moving to France, the rituals slightly changed but it was Church first of all, everyone dressed as their Sunday best.

A Visit to the Pastry Shop

And then we would go to the pastry shop which was really great. Because after Church, we would go and select, each one of us, a little pastry from the shop. Usually a little cake or an individual type of cake that was a delicacy, really. So it was a big deal.

What was your schooling like? Did you go to private school when you were in Africa?

French School for Expatriates

So it wasn’t really private school, what was really interesting with that system is that we were actually taught by our moms and dads from that community we lived in. So everyone knew each other. It was slightly strange, you know, people went to work together. The kids were schooled together. But, you know, so my friends moms would teach us, and, I think, at one point my mom taught at the very beginning. But, so it was based on the French school system… you know if you’re an expatriated French person the government kind of has a set of questions and courses that you can take. And so basically that’s what the teachers would do. They weren’t really professional teachers. They were more like repeating and going through the curriculum making sure we were done. So that’s the type of schooling I had. In France, that’s maybe what you would expect in rural areas, you know, where there’s a lot of different grades in one grade. You know, things like that.

Catholic School and Public School

But then when I went back to France, I integrated. I think the first school I attended was a private Catholic School for maybe the first two to three years. And then, when I started middle school, it was also private school, Catholic school run by nuns. I remember they were quite strict as an environment. But when we moved again, you know, in I guess what is seventh grade, I went into the public school system. There were really great public schools in the south of France where we lived at that time. And then, from then on, it was always public schools.

University

Then I went to university in France and studied two years of university in France. The equivalent of a BA. So first year in Montpelier, second year in Aix-en-Provence. And then I went to England after that to do a second year.

When did you choose your major? Do you choose your major, do they call it that?

Well, it’s slightly different. You choose maybe a career path or a topic for your BA, that’s overarching. So initially I thought I wanted to be a creative in advertising. I guess I’ve always been interested, since 13 years old, I have a collection of beautiful perfume ads, fragrance ads from the entire world. Because I was fascinated by the ability of whoever created that ad to convey meaning of a specific perfume through not only the bottle, but also the color choices, the logo, the catch phrase and the pictures. And the pictures are usually very beautiful and enticing and appealing. So I was fascinated by that and I’ve always loved fashion. So I have a huge collection at my parents’ house of all of these that I have gathered as a teenager. And so, I was so taken by these that I thought I wanted to be a creative.

Creative Courses

And I’ve always had that creative strain in me. So one day I remember asking my dad or telling my dad I wanted to go to the Beaux Arts School. And he asked me, “What are you going to do with this?” So that’s when I realized okay, maybe he won’t let me do this. So I actually went into the advertising route. So that’s where I started. So I did a lot of courses about linguistics, semiotics, the meaning behind signs and symbols, you know. I did ethnology, anthropology, marketing, a whole range of courses. And little by little that took me into marketing as well and then I realized, at one point in those marketing classes, that wasn’t at all what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to sell a product for, you know, at all costs. That’s not at all what I wanted.

Art and Visuals Course Study

I actually wanted to enjoy and pass on meaning through art and visuals. So that’s when I started changing my course of study, and then I went and did a Master’s in Visual Cultures. And that included beautiful courses such as Public Sites of Memory, Public Art, Memorials. I did a thesis on war photography. I did film. I did installation art, interventions, and activation of artworks. So a lot of art related courses to eventually get where I’m at.

It sounds perfect. It sounds like the perfect path.

I understand that you worked as gallery director at the Third Line Gallery in Doha, Qatar. I looked at their website and it is so inspiring. Are there artists or exhibits that you worked on that have special meaning for you?

Oh goodness, so many of them, yes. The Third Line was a beautiful experience. It is one of the leading art galleries in the Middle East. It was a fantastic time because it allowed me to learn so much about art from the Middle East and the Middle Eastern diaspora as well. A lot of the artists I represented at the time were actually living in other countries, in the U.S. in fact.

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian Exhibition at The Third Line

But I think an exhibition I can remember would be: Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian Exhibition at The Third Line because it was such an honor to work with a lady of that caliber. You know, a woman that had created a whole entire work practice since the, I want to say the 50’s. When I met her I think she was in her 80’s. She passed away a couple of years ago now, I want to say at the age of 98, she was in her 90’s. But a really beautiful, dignified woman with such a strong vision in life. She was working at the time in the Middle East, so she’s an Iranian artist who made her name by using kind of sacred Islamic geometry in her art using mirror and tiles. And she’s created beautiful environments, but as well as discrete artworks. The work is beautiful and still today people are wow’d by her practice.

Do you think there might be a time that we might see some of that art here?

Yes, absolutely. In fact, in 2019 we did an exhibition at the museum where her work was included in the exhibition. That piece actually is in the permanent collection at The Alfond Inn, Rollins College; actually on permanent view at The Alfond Inn which is really fabulous to see an artwork of that calibre on view to the general public. It’s really exciting.

You also worked as an independent art adviser in Beirut. For those of us who are not in the art world, what is your workday like, who do you work with and how do you do it?

That’s a great question. So as an independent art adviser, which I still do to this day various things, in Beirut specifically I had three main projects. One of them, I worked with two British artists to try to get their work international exposure. So we worked on trying to get their work seen in Asia, for example. It was perfect for me because at the time when I was in Beirut I was having my second child. It’s always a challenge for a young mother to juggle work. But the art world is really conducive to that because you can work from home. In fact, nowadays we know it’s possible to work from home. There’s no reason why a woman shouldn’t have it all, you know. And so, I truly believe in being able to be a mother and also kind of keep being fulfilled as a professional woman.

Beirut Exhibition Center

And so, I had the opportunity to work with those two artists, Anderson & Lo. And then at the same time, a lady who knew I was in Beirut, actually reached out to me for an exhibition she was curating at the Beirut Exhibition Center which was called: “Rebirth”. And it was talking about the Beiruti art scene, so she consulted with me on a specific kind of way of exhibiting certain pieces.

American University in Beirut

And then the other project I had, I consulted with the Art Department at the American University in Beirut because at the time they were thinking of opening their gallery space for the first time. And they were receiving a large gift of art by Khalil Saleeby which was really exciting. You know, a kind of modernist Beiruti painter. And so at the time, it was really exciting. And so, I consulted with them on how to create a curriculum for students to be in museum studies. So I don’t know if they ever actually launched their museum studies curriculum, but that’s what we were working on at the time.

Doing an exhibition in Beirut, is it different than doing an exhibition here? In other words, for the people coming, there is such inspiration and meaning to having the exhibition, is it different or is it the same?

I think that’s a great question. I think Beirut is a very beautiful, very open minded city. And again, I was there now twelve years ago, so it might have changed. You know, I can only speak to what it was like twelve years ago. But I loved the creative energy. People had that creative will and that resilience and they would open a creative shop in an old crumbly building and it was magnificent. And the level of creativity was very inspiring. So, yes, in Beirut people were creating pop-up exhibitions in new spaces, forbidden spaces which was really interesting and creatively mindblowing.

Middle Eastern Art Representation in the United States

What I loved about the contrast with here, is that when I came to the United States and specifically Orlando, you know Orlando is very connected to Miami and the Miami art scene. We get Art Basel in Miami. But what I noticed when I was going through the art fair every year, is that I was craving Middle Eastern Art. You can’t see it. You know, it’s nowhere. You see the usual subjects, Shirin Neshat because she’s so huge in the art world. Yes, somebody needs to have her in the fair, but, you know, there’s so much more. And I was, you know, baffled that there was not more representation in the U.S.

Jack Shainman Gallery in New York

Now it has changed, there are galleries especially in New York that are doing really tremendous work. Jack Shainman Gallery is one of them. But I still think that there’s so much that can be shared. Middle Eastern art is full of beautiful poetic moments, but also heart wrenching moments. But it’s connected to incredible thought and writers and activists. Some of the biggest thinkers in the world actually came from the Middle East and that culture needs to be shared because it’s, you know, it’s everywhere. It’s impregnated. So I think there’s a lot we can learn from each other.

So we’ll look for that in our international city here.

Oh, yes, please. I’m still devoted to trying to bring more of that here.

How did you happen to come to Orlando?

So that’s a great question and that’s a story that maybe I’ll rewind back to the UK. So I studied in France and then I met my now husband in France. He was my fiance at the time. He was studying Shakespeare, and so he wanted to go to the UK because what’s the best environment to learn about Shakespeare, right? It’s to be in his country of birth. He was integrating in a university in the UK and so I said, “I’ll come with you!” I basically dropped everything I was doing and I didn’t speak a word of English. The French system is really great at teaching you English, foreign languages in the written form. So you’re really good at writing an essay. You’re really good at reading. However, speaking is terrible. So I had zero communication skills in English. Couldn’t understand a thing. Couldn’t speak it. But anyway, I wanted to be with him so I said, “I’ll come with you.”

Master’s in Visual Cultures at Lancaster University

Luckily enough, I got accepted in the university in the same town, so that was really wonderful. And we were there for nine years, that’s where I did my BA in Culture Media and Communication. And then I did a Master’s in Visual Cultures there at Lancaster University which is on the border of the Lake District, northwest of England, a very beautiful, incredible landscape.

Qatar

And then after that, my husband had now a PhD after nine years, well early then that probably after five to seven years he had a PhD, but it was during the recession. There were no jobs. No permanent jobs. We were, we had our first baby. And so, the Middle East were offering these really interesting teaching opportunities abroad. And so, he accepted one. That’s what took us to Qatar.

Urbis Museum

At the time I had my dream job in Manchester in the UK. I didn’t want to leave. You know it was beautiful. It was my first museum experience. Their museum was called Urbis. It was an urban museum of contemporary urban art, basically, street art. It was a non-collecting institution, that means they weren’t collecting art. It was really inspiring to me because every single exhibition was built from the ground up. You know literally from scratch every time. You know, that’s why I have such a fascination and love for curating versus touring an exhibition, bringing a touring exhibition because I’ve done it so many times. I’ve had to do it so many times. And that building was really beautiful, it was a glass 21st century building, really gorgeous, in the middle of Manchester.

“A Blessing in Disguise”

And so, when he said, “Well, let’s go, let’s leave.” I was really torn because that was my dream job. However, within a year of us leaving, that museum became the museum of soccer, or football in England. It’s their hometown of Manchester City and Manchester United. So, of course, there’s a huge soccer culture. And during the recession, unfortunately, there was a lot of art funding that was pulled from a lot of institutions, so that was the only way to make that building kind of sustainable. So I didn’t – in fact, I gained by leaving. You know I left just the year before that happened. So there was a blessing in disguise.

Arab Spring

And then of course in the Middle East, I worked one year in Qatar for Third Line, two years in Beirut. And then again, every time, we moved because of my husband’s job. So to go back to your question: Why Orlando? My husband, at the time, so now it’s the Arab Spring when we live in Beirut, a lot of unsettling moments for the Middle East. And some of our Middle Eastern friends told us, “If you have an opportunity to leave, we encourage you to do so. It’s safer.” We had two babies at the time. And so, we left. But it was a heartbreak really for me as well. Beirut is such a beautiful city. I could have seen spending my life there. Literally, the weather, the people, the city itself is beautiful and endearing. So I can’t wait to go back.

Orlando

But Orlando was one of the choices my husband had at the time. I think he had interviewed for three different jobs. One in Texas. One in North Carolina. And one here. And I went with him to the North Carolina one and it was in the heart of February, very cold. And I went twice around the little city. It was beautiful, but very small. I told him, “I couldn’t see myself living here.” You know, there was nothing for me to do. And so, when he got the Orlando offer as well, we’d never been to Orlando. I just knew it was an international city. I didn’t know it was known for only its theme parks. I thought it was international culturally, too. But I’d heard really great things about it, that it’s a great environment to raise a family and we had two young kids. So we chose Orlando. It’s really exciting to me that Orlando is a young city. It’s like a teenage city still trying to find itself. The art scene is actually really exciting because we can play a part in actually helping to shape it, which most cities that are internationally renowned in the world, you can’t do that. You know, it’s already established. You’re only just bringing a drop. But here, you have a bigger chance to make a difference. Yeah, so here we are.

We’re so happy that you’re here especially with your international education and experience.

Thank you.

That’s a lot of expertise and vitality that’s a perfect match.

I agree because Orlando is so international. And, I think we need people that are internationally minded. That means we’re not limited to just the walls of Orlando. But also, that are diversity minded and welcoming of diverse people. Because that’s a melting pot and Orlando is increasingly so. And it’s really great to hear different languages being spoken. I’m very involved with the Fusion Fest in town, you know, Terry Olson’s project of bringing diversity to the forefront of The City Beautiful. And this is who we are, and I think it’s a great way to celebrate it.

And you’re also celebrating, the Orlando Museum of Art is celebrating 100 years this year, so many congratulations to you and to the OMA Legacy of Leaders!

Thank you so much. I feel I played a very small part in that legacy, but it’s very exciting. Because not many institutions get to be a hundred.

And you’ve been with the Orlando Museum of Art for a while now, right?

I’ve been there six years and a half.

And you are now Chief Curator, as of?

Yes, as of March 1. I’m glad you asked that question. Because although I’ve been there six and a half years, it has been steps. I didn’t start as a Chief Curator. I started as an Associate Curator. I want to say I was Associate Curator until September 2022, and then I got promoted to Curator. Then in February 2023, I got promoted to Interim Chief of Collections and Exhibitions. And then in March of this year, finally as Chief Curator. And actually my title is: Cottrell and Lovett Chief Curator. That’s because that position is now named thanks to a large gift of artworks that we received in March. At the same time I was being promoted, we received over 300 hundred art works from the Cottrell Lovett Collection in New York.

So that’s affirmation for you, the museum and our community.

Yes, I agree. It’s a huge accolade.

I have a curator question… looking in the archives it says that early meetings were held in the [Orlando Public] Library and then the Orlando Museum of Art was started at Loch Haven Park. And then, that there were some donations from our community that are in the collection now. And I understand there is also a corporate organization that contributes. So what happens – this is the curator question – I know that there are trends in art, and what happens to those early donations? Do they always remain in the collection? I know like in some museums they will show some pieces and then other pieces are kept in storage. Is that what happens?

Yes, always. It’s really sad to say, but most of museum collections stay in storage, stay in a vault and are rarely seen. I think museums at any one time are only able to show maybe up to 20 percent of their collection So it’s really sad. It’s a reality. And we’re trying, as many museums are, to change that. Because the museum’s collection is not really a museum’s to keep. It’s really to be shared. To be seen. To be used as an education tool. It serves no purpose “gathering dust” on the shelves. I use the quotation marks because they’re not supposed to gather dust. Everything is taken care of in boxes and properly handled. But that being said, it’s the reality. Most of it sits on the shelf in the museum’s vault.

Art Database

So one of my biggest missions since I was named Chief Curator, or even last year as Head of Interim Collections and Exhibitions, was to actually bring out some of these works that the museum has and that had never seen the light of day for over 15 years, sometimes ever. And we have a way of tracking that by the way. We have a database that shows art movement and it tells you which piece is on view, which piece has been seen, and when it was last on view. And so, it was fascinating to me that we had wonders that had never been shown.

Art Holdings in the Public Trust

So I brought out, you know, in the past year and the beginning of this year, was really highlighting the beautiful museum holdings. You know what we have in that collection that deserves to be seen and shared. Celebrating that collection, celebrating our collecting circles, that means the people that have collected those pieces for the museum, celebrating donors, celebrating long term lenders, because all of this matters. And again, that’s not the museum’s collection. It’s really held in the public’s trust.

Traveling Exhibition

And then the next part of it, is actually, traveling that exhibition, those collections. So that’s my next huge task, is actually to conceptualize exhibitions that we can then travel to other institutions that are smaller than us. Our museum is a medium size museum and there are so many museums that are smaller than us in the United States.

Ancient American Artifacts Collection

Earlier in our conversation you mentioned the ancient American artifacts that we hold. We have one of the biggest collections in the southeastern United States. That collection deserves to be seen, you know they are absolute treasures and they’re great educational tools, to learn where we come from as a species, you know as a human. And that art is still relevant today and still pervading areas of contemporary art as well.

A Mother, Possibly OMA Exhibition

An exhibition I did early this year was called: A Mother, Possibly. And it was looking at the archetype of the mother figure in art. And that was the perfect time for me to be able to show some of these motherhood figures from the Ancient American Art Collection paired with contemporary art works representing motherhood. So that’s an example of what I’m trying to do. You know, and kind of breaking the mold a little bit. Breaking the accepted kind of – let’s keep this art because it’s Ancient America- let’s keep it in just one gallery. I’m trying to kind of merge things together. A little bit like what you would do in comparative literature. You know do comparative arts like that a little bit.

And speaking of breaking the mold, I’m kind of excited about this, I read that you’re planning an exhibit of skateboarding photography.

Oh, my goodness, yes we are! I’m as excited as you are! So the exhibition is actually opening on September 21st. So it came about, we were actually curating an exhibition on punk design, couture and culture. And so, that exhibition is looking at alternative cultures and valuing or valorizing subcultures. You know they’re called subcultures and I don’t really like the word “subculture” because it means less than. I like alternative culture a little more. Because you know alternative or parallel pathways to culture. And so many people love that kind of punk scene. You know not only the freedom of expression, it brought to so many at the time back in the seventies and eighties. But today the new generations are also embracing that because it’s a way to kind of, you know, reverse status quo; kind of shift things over and be a little bit of an activist in a way.

J. Grant Brittain

So that punk exhibition that we are curating, also is connected to another alternative culture which is the skateboarding culture. We are working with J. Grant Brittain, who is a photographer. And he was the photographer who helped elevate the scene of skateboarding. And kind of helped, you know, fuse it as a culture itself. Because he documented so many key players at the time. I’m thinking, Tony Hawk from the age of eleven was photographed by Grant. And so, this is going to be the photographer’s very first museum exhibition. It’s exciting because it’s looking at, you know, how crazy those skateboarders were. You see some spectacular poses that they’re doing. And they’re just doing it because that’s what they do. But the photographer was there to capture them. And he was there to capture that culture at work. And there are some photos that were taken in Orlando. So there’s an Orlando connection.

There’s so much energy to that culture too, like the Futurists type images.

Absolutely. It is, absolutely. It’s still prominent today. You know, it’s a mode of transportation as well, you know, skateboard. And it’s a mode of expression because people, you know, they tag or they paint their own skateboards. So we are actually helping to work with a couple of nonprofits in town to actually cultivate that side of people’s creativity as well. You know, express yourself, basically through sports, through being active, through all of that aspect as well.

I noticed, because you mentioned nonprofits, I noticed there’s been an effort to open the museums as well. Like I noticed that there’s a Bank of America program. There’s information on your website on that. If I understand correctly, if you have a Bank of America credit card then you can come to the museum at no cost. Is that correct?

Yes. You have it absolutely correct. In fact, I’m so glad you asked that question because it’s another huge goal of mine to offer a museum without walls, whatever that might mean. And one of them is access, accessibility to museums. When you look at the museum environment, it’s really, it’s still perceived as being elitist. A lot of people say, it’s not for me. It’s seen as being a dusty environment or maybe too highbrow. And that’s not the reality. In the 21st century, the museums are open. They are a place where you can see yourself portrayed on the walls. You know, you can see yourself, where you belong.

Offering Programs That Are Open and Exciting to All

We’re trying to kind of change that perception of museums, especially the museum where we work. But that’s by offering programs that are open and exciting to all. Artworks in the collection that we are acquiring that are reflective of who we are today, you know. And mostly, literally lifting some admission charges. Because admission fees can be expensive, but thanks to really generous donors like Bank of America we’re able to do one day a month which if you’re a Bank of America cardholder you can come in for free. That being said, you know you still need to be a Bank of America customer.

Free Access for All Day

So now we have something else as well which is really exciting. At the end of 2023, we got awarded a very large grant: $400,000 dollars from the Art Bridges Foundation. Art Bridges Foundation is under the heading of the Alice Walton Foundation. So Alice Walton being one of the Walmart heirs. She has such a huge philanthropic will to share art, especially American Art with the people in the United States that she has created all these endeavors to share great art. And so one of them is that grant that we got awarded allows us to have a Free Access for All Day once a month. No ties attached. You don’t need to have a credit card or a bank card. Literally you just come anytime between the hours of, we open at ten that day, but it’s also extended hours to eight PM which allows people who have work, commitments, to come after work. So we’re open from ten until eight.

Museum Platform for Nonprofits

But what I love with that program as well, is that it’s allowing the museum to bring in collaborators. And so, we’re bringing in a lot of other nonprofits to make them shine. So we give them the platform of the museum to actually either do a poetry reading or do a piece of opera depending on, you know, or do a play. And all of these partners get paid, so the grant allows us to pay them. We’re not asking them for free activations. Literally, they’re getting paid for their time. And it’s a great way to show that we’re good neighbors as well in showcasing other great partners in town.

Enzian Theater Partnership

So one of these partnerships I mentioned that I’m particularly fond of is with the Enzian Theater which is a boutique theater in Orlando, independent movie theater. And we’re doing screenings of art films. So experimental, avant garde, weird things that you may not be able to see in another environment. Because, you know, most cinemas need to make sure they fill, that they sell tickets. Whereas here, because it’s already subsidized, it doesn’t matter how many people show up as long as we’re able to share that great art piece.

That’s so exciting. It’s really wonderful. Everyone’s thinking now, oh I can’t wait to go!

And the Florida Prize Exhibition, that just opened.

Yes, it just opened on Friday. It’s going to be open until August 25. So it’s our summer exhibition which is good and bad in a way because I wish more students would get to see it and more snowbirds would also get to see it. So there is an exodus from Florida out of state during the summer unfortunately. But I’m hoping that we get other people to come see it. Possibly visitors from out of town especially tourists that are here looking for great art while they’re here enjoying the theme parks.

And maybe the art then after goes someplace else like the airport, possibly?

That’s it exactly. That would be absolutely great if we are able to showcase the work of these ten Florida based artists outside of the museum institution that would be the goal, really.

We mentioned we are an international city with an international population visiting our area, so what should people know about the Orlando Museum of Art? What would you like them to know?

Gosh, that’s a great question. I think I wish what they would know is that it’s bigger than they would expect. In fact, that’s people from out of town, but also people in town, you know. I noticed that a lot of people drive past the museum everyday, but don’t really know there is a museum. I’ve had so many people, even in the creative industries that I’ve met over the years that tell me, “There’s a museum in Orlando? Do you mean the Science Center? I didn’t know there was a museum.” And they are working in creative industries, sometimes as graphic designers, sometimes in advertising, or printing industries. And I tell them, “No, there’s a museum.” And believe me, we do great things. And I would love to kind of shift the narrative a little bit and have people to come see it for what it is.

“It’s a beautiful space…”

It’s a beautiful space, you know. A lot of smaller museums or even bigger museums are envious because the galleries are beautiful. They’re light and airy. And there’s gorgeous natural light as well in so many of them. We do have a Chihuly sculpture and people kind of, American people especially love Chihuly. And so, there’s a lot of great things. We do try and break the mold a little bit as well and be a little daring. We have shown NFT art and we have shown collections by really exciting new collectors as well. We try and do things that are provoking as well, not for the sake of being provoking, I mean thought provoking. Trying to break that mold a little bit about what’s expected. So that element of surprise I think is important and I think you get that when you come to see this Florida prize, you’ll definitely get surprised.

You mentioned how big it is. So at any one time, like right now, there’s the Florida Prize, but could you mention some of the variety of collections that someone could see at any one time because there are the different galleries?

Traditional American Art

Absolutely. So right now, to give you an example of what’s on view, we have an entire gallery and exhibition on Traditional American Art. So that’s great for anyone who likes more classic works of art. You would go to that gallery, there’s about maybe thirty works on view in that gallery which really is kind of fulfilling for the more art historical enthusiast out there.

Ancient American Artifacts

And then we have a gallery of Ancient American Artifacts and that’s beautiful. I really see those as being true kind of treasures. Again, that’s an opportunity not only for learning, but for anthropology and kind of ethnography and all of that is kind of embedded in the work and really exciting.

Contemporary Art Print Collection

We also have a Contemporary Art Print Collection which is really beautiful. It was collected over the course of fifty years by our Council of 101 collecting circle. That’s about 350 women by the way. So the power of women. I love it! Getting together, fundraising for the museum over those fifty years. And the proceeds go back fully to the museum. It allows us to create exhibitions, education programs as well as purchasing art. The contemporary art prints, some of them I mentioned big names, you know, Warhol is in the collection, Frank Stella, for example, who just passed away a couple of weeks ago. You know, all of these are in the collection thanks to those women. We are very grateful to our collecting circles to be able to acquire works.

Contemporary Artworks

And then we have of course, so I mentioned the historic art was actually purchased by our Friends of American Art group. And then we have an exhibition of Contemporary Artworks by the Acquisition Trust which is another collecting circle. Really key to kind of showcase these groups because they have helped grow the collection for the public of Orlando.

So it’s worth a visit as a destination.

I think so. I agree.

So one more question.

Sure.

What do you do for fun?

Gosh, well, I’m lucky enough that I love my job. And, it’s so much more than a job. You know, it’s, yes, it’s work, it’s hard work, it’s labor, it’s sweat, tears, blood sometimes. But, you know, I’m in an industry that it’s really easy to get passionate about it, so I don’t count the hours. And it is fun. It is fun.

Planning Future Exhibitions and Working with Artists and Collectors

What I do in my spare time I’ll say that maybe, I’m thinking about what I do for work a lot of times. I plan years in advance. Because sometimes there’s an exhibition that I’ve wanted to do a few years ago and the time wasn’t right or I was told no. And I don’t give up easily. I am quite tenacious and I still see the reason to do that exhibition. So I’m still working on those. I work with artists also outside of work. I work with collectors outside of work.

Spending Time with My Kids and Primitive Camping

I love spending time with my kids. I love camping and especially primitive camping, so that scares people when I say that. Because primitive camping means it’s you, a tent, a few sticks to make a fire and just in the wilderness and that’s it. And I love that. I find a lot of comfort in nature. So Florida is hot, so it does mean you can be uncomfortable. But I love that, I love hearing the sound of birds really early in the morning. I don’t like the spiders so much, bugs scare me a little bit. But, you know, there’s ways to overcome your fears. So I love that, it’s pushing your boundaries of comfort.

Reading

And then the other thing I love to do is, reading. And I can’t wait to have some time off, you know coming in the next week or so, to just read: me and my book, and that’s it. And this environment here, we’re interviewing in today, is so perfect. I love books. I love being surrounded by books. And I have a pile to read that’s increasingly growing.

Thank you so much, Coralie, for speaking with us today! We are thrilled with the vitality you bring to art access for all in our community. Your international expertise and personal connection to our community is outstanding! We treasure you and we wish you phenomenal success at the Orlando Museum of Art! May the next 100 years of the museum be beautiful and brilliant!

Interview: Coralie Claeysen-Gleyzon

Interviewer:  Jane Tracy

Date: June 4, 2024

Place: Orlando Public Library

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