Rockford Projects partners with art venues to create thought-provoking and engaging curated exhibitions, lectures, guided tours, workshops and other educational art events.
We are committed to supporting highly innovative artists creating relevant and timely work that pushes boundaries and sparks dialogue, contributing to positive change.
We are committed to supporting highly innovative artists creating relevant and timely work that pushes boundaries and sparks dialogue, contributing to positive change.
Lisa Rockford (she/they), founder of Rockford Projects, is an independent curator, artist, and educator with a definitive interest in contemporary, interdisciplinary approaches, new media, and the re-invention of traditional media and techniques. She thoughtfully stages innovative artworks in thematic exhibitions that will spark dialogue, and act as catalysts for cultural exchange.
Known to be a passionate arts advocate, working to offer more exhibition opportunities to underrepresented artists, she has organized multi-disciplinary exhibitions, public lectures, artist workshops, and interactive experiences, designed to be accessible to a broad audience. In 2013, she was dubbed a "Rising Star" in Gold Coast Magazine’s article, “40 under 40,” and named a “Change Agent” in local press for her community building art events. As an independent curator, and founder of Rockford Projects, she has working relationships with over 400 artists and has curated 23 exhibitions.
Known to be a passionate arts advocate, working to offer more exhibition opportunities to underrepresented artists, she has organized multi-disciplinary exhibitions, public lectures, artist workshops, and interactive experiences, designed to be accessible to a broad audience. In 2013, she was dubbed a "Rising Star" in Gold Coast Magazine’s article, “40 under 40,” and named a “Change Agent” in local press for her community building art events. As an independent curator, and founder of Rockford Projects, she has working relationships with over 400 artists and has curated 23 exhibitions.
Lisa born in Texas and raised in South Florida, before earning her BFA from Bowling Green State University in 1999, and MFA in 2001 from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2007, after returning to South Florida, Lisa was among the first to be selected for a residency at Sailboat Bend Artist Lofts in Fort Lauderdale. During her seven-year residency, she was the principal organizer in converting 3 floors of common space into an artist-run, public exhibition space called 1310 Gallery. She quickly gained media attention for her thematic curated exhibitions at the gallery, focusing on humor, gender, power hierarchies, contemporary fiber art, the use of recycled materials, and non-traditional practices. Her projects have been featured on PBS’ television series Art Loft, and six of her curated exhibitions received grants from the Broward County Cultural Division.
Lisa has since been invited to curate exhibitions at Torrance Art Museum, Whitespace-the Mordes Collection/West Palm Beach, The Projects Contemporary Art Space FATVillage/Fort Lauderdale, and Bailey Contemporary Arts/Pompano Beach, and commissioned to facilitate projects for the Girls Club-The Francie Bishop Good & David Horvitz Collection/Fort Lauderdale, the Broward Art Guild, Plantation City’s Art in the Park, Young at Art Museum/Davie, and the ArtFTL 2019 art fair, and selected to jury art exhibits for the Broward Art Guild, ArtiGras Palm Beach, and other local art fairs.
At the same time as working as an independent curator, Lisa is an Associate Professor of Visual Arts at Broward College, where she instituted their first visiting artist series on the campus, annually bringing national artists to give lectures and workshops, and instituted ArtFest, an annual celebration of the visual arts on the North Campus. In 2014, she received the Robert Elmore International Exchange Award through the Honors department in to travel to China, and The A. Hugh Adams Endowed Teaching Chair in 2018, and the Professor of the Year award in 2022.
Lisa has been invited to speak at The Perez Museum of Art, Miami, The Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, Young at Art Museum, FL, Bowling Green State University, Dillard School of the Arts, has presented research at the International Conference on Humanities & Arts in a Global in Athens, Greece, at the Hawaii International Conference on Arts & Humanities, and annually provides educational tours for Art Nexus Magazine at the official Art Basel Miami Beach and The Armory Art Show NYC international art fairs.
Lisa has since been invited to curate exhibitions at Torrance Art Museum, Whitespace-the Mordes Collection/West Palm Beach, The Projects Contemporary Art Space FATVillage/Fort Lauderdale, and Bailey Contemporary Arts/Pompano Beach, and commissioned to facilitate projects for the Girls Club-The Francie Bishop Good & David Horvitz Collection/Fort Lauderdale, the Broward Art Guild, Plantation City’s Art in the Park, Young at Art Museum/Davie, and the ArtFTL 2019 art fair, and selected to jury art exhibits for the Broward Art Guild, ArtiGras Palm Beach, and other local art fairs.
At the same time as working as an independent curator, Lisa is an Associate Professor of Visual Arts at Broward College, where she instituted their first visiting artist series on the campus, annually bringing national artists to give lectures and workshops, and instituted ArtFest, an annual celebration of the visual arts on the North Campus. In 2014, she received the Robert Elmore International Exchange Award through the Honors department in to travel to China, and The A. Hugh Adams Endowed Teaching Chair in 2018, and the Professor of the Year award in 2022.
Lisa has been invited to speak at The Perez Museum of Art, Miami, The Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, Young at Art Museum, FL, Bowling Green State University, Dillard School of the Arts, has presented research at the International Conference on Humanities & Arts in a Global in Athens, Greece, at the Hawaii International Conference on Arts & Humanities, and annually provides educational tours for Art Nexus Magazine at the official Art Basel Miami Beach and The Armory Art Show NYC international art fairs.
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“For over 10 years, I have never missed the opportunity of seeing one of Lisa Rockford’s high-quality contemporary art exhibitions. She curates dynamic, entertaining, and socially conscious shows. Her numerous exhibitions demonstrate her commitment to the importance of visual arts and to exposing artists work to the community. Rockford’s energy, professional management skills, and her ability to communicate consistently produces intelligent and thought-provoking exhibitions.”
– Virginia Fifield, Professional Artist |
“…Curating therefore refers not to the staging of an event, but to the event of knowledge itself.”
- Jean-Paul Martinon
“…Curating therefore refers not to the staging of an event, but to the event of knowledge itself.”
- Jean-Paul Martinon
Contact Lisa for
- Art lectures
- Curated Exhibitions
- Collection advising
- Private museum & Art Fair Tours
- Art Workshops
- Exhibition Jurying
Previous PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS
2011 - 2019
2017
2011 - 2019
- Tour Guide and Script author for ArtNexus at the official Art Basel Miami Beach
- Tour Guide and Script author for ArtNexus at The Armory Art Show, NYC
- Artist talk & Tour: Local Views: Lisa Rockford, The Perez Museum of Art, Miami
- Paper Presentation: Science as a Means of Making in Contemporary Art, Hawaii International Conference on Arts & Humanities,
2017
- Lecture & Moderator: The Potency of Pink, Bailey Contemporary Arts, Pompano Beach, FL
- Workshop: Alternative Printmaking, Young at Art Museum, Davie, FL
- Lecture & Moderator: The Potency of Pink, Girls Club, The Collection of Francie Bishop Good & David Horvitz, Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Paper Presentation: Science as a Means of Making in Contemporary Art, 4th Annual International Conference on Humanities & Arts in a Global World, Athens, Greece
- Workshop: Rubbing Creatures, at Young at Art Museum, Davie, FL
- Lecture & Moderator: Selfie Love, The Projects, FAT Village Art district, Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Workshop: Frottage Characters, at Young at Art Museum, Davie, FL
- Lecture & Moderator of Panel Discussion: Against the Grain. The Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, FL (now NSU Art Museum)
- Workshop: Frottage & Watercolor, Young at Art Museum, Davie, FL
- Workshop: Frottage & Watercolor, with PACE organization at Girls Club, The Collection of Francie Bishop Good & David Horvitz, Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Lecture: The Aesthetics of Gender in Contemporary Art Broward North Regional Library, Coconut Creek, FL
- Panelist: Journalist/Voyeur: Round Table Discussion on Photography, Hosted by City of Boynton Beach Art in Public Places and ActivistArtistA Gallery, Boynton Beach Public Library, FL
- Lecture: Contemporary Art and the Critique of Capitalism, Broward North Regional Library, Coconut Creek, FL
- Artist Lecture for Women’s Studies class, Bowling Green State University School of Art, OH
- Visiting Artist & Artist Lecture: Graduate Colloquium, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL
GRANTS, AWARDS & HONORS
2018 A. Hugh Adams Endowed Teaching Chair Broward College Foundation
2016 - 2017 Creative Investment Program Grant for Individual Artists Broward Cultural Division
2016 – 2018 Critical Thinking Scholar, Center for Teaching Excellence Broward College, North Campus
2014 Robert Elmore International Exchange Award Broward College Honors Institute
2011 - 2016 Faculty Enhancement Program Grant Broward College, North Campus
2010 - 2013 Creative Investment Program Grant for Individual Artists Broward Cultural Division
2011 Innovative Collaborative Grant FAB Grants, Funding Arts Broward Inc.
2008 Cultural Awards Grant Broward College Foundation
2008 - 2014 Residency, Sailboat Bend Artist Lofts Artspace
BIBLIOGRAPHY (Reviews/Articles/Catalogues/Interviews)
2018 A. Hugh Adams Endowed Teaching Chair Broward College Foundation
2016 - 2017 Creative Investment Program Grant for Individual Artists Broward Cultural Division
2016 – 2018 Critical Thinking Scholar, Center for Teaching Excellence Broward College, North Campus
2014 Robert Elmore International Exchange Award Broward College Honors Institute
2011 - 2016 Faculty Enhancement Program Grant Broward College, North Campus
2010 - 2013 Creative Investment Program Grant for Individual Artists Broward Cultural Division
2011 Innovative Collaborative Grant FAB Grants, Funding Arts Broward Inc.
2008 Cultural Awards Grant Broward College Foundation
2008 - 2014 Residency, Sailboat Bend Artist Lofts Artspace
BIBLIOGRAPHY (Reviews/Articles/Catalogues/Interviews)
- Lisa Rockford, “Science as Means for Making in Contemporary Art,” Agathos: An International Review of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol. 10, Issue 1/2019.
- Jim Slotek, “Art feeds the mind in Fort Lauderdale,” Toronto Sun, April 2, 2019.
- Phillip Valys, “Florida Artists get ‘Hot and Sticky’ at Fort Lauderdale’s FAT Village,” SouthFlorida.com, May 8, 2018.
- Phillip Valys, “Artists air their political views in ‘Outside the Box’ in West Palm Beach,” SouthFlorida.com, March 5, 2018.
- Jan Sjostrom, “Whitespace’s Installation Art Show Takes on Trump And Hot Button Issues,” Palm Beach Daily News, March 7, 2018.
- Phillip Valys, “These female artists are getting 'Gritty' with the color pink,” The Sun Sentinel, June 14, 2017.
- Tom Austin, “The Future is Female,” Venice Magazine, April 2, 2017.
- “Episode 503: Art Basel Miami 15th Anniversary,” Art Loft, WBT2 / South Florida PBS, December 6, 2016.
- Phillip Valys, “Foxy messages abound in Pompano Beach recycled-art show,” The Sun Sentinel, September 18, 2016.
- Lee Zimmerman, “Atypical Self-Portraits are the focus of a new show at Bailey Arts in Pompano,” New Times (BPB), July 6, 2016.
- Phillip Valys, “Artists face themselves in new show at Bailey Contemporary Arts,” The Sun Sentinel, July 20, 2016.
- Jan Sjostrom, “Outside the Box3 Showcases Installation & Performance Art,” Palm Beach Daily News, March 25, 2016
- Lisa Rockford, “40 Artists get Site-specific for Outdoor Art Biennial in West Palm Beach,” Art Districts, No. 41, April- May 2016. p 44-45.
- Phillip Valys, “’New, Loud and Spontaneous’ Art in West Palm Beach, SouthFlorida.com, March 30, 2016.
- Andrea Richard, “Art Basel 2015: Between Fort Lauderdale & Miami,” New Times (BPB), November 30, 2015.
- "’Selfie’ show examines how we interact with art,” Sun Sentinel video shorts, October 27, 2015.
- Michael Mills, “Arts Preview 2015-16: The Season in Broward Art,” Palm Beach Arts Paper, October 24, 2015.
- Jamie Nix Rahn, “Insert Self,” Art South Florida, August 29, 2015.
- Phillip Valys, “Our Bodies, Our Selfies,” The Sun Sentinel, August 25, 2015.
- Leah Brown, “In the Age of the #Selfie, will the viewer always be part of the picture?,” Knight Blog, Knight Foundation, August 19, 2015.
- “Art Trichotomy: Portraits of the Industry,” an independent film created by Megan Castellon for Girls Club, The Collection of Francie Bishop Good & David Horvitz, July 2015.
- “Episode 309: Rough & Tumble,” Art Loft, WBT2 / South Florida PBS, December 31, 2014.
- Phillip Valys, “Walking in a Weird-Art Wonderland,” SouthFlorida.com, September 26, 2014.
- Andrea Richard, “The Triumph of Detritus Showcases “Rough Aesthetic” of Found Items,” New Times (BPB),June 26, 2014.
- “Feature: Village People,” Fort Lauderdale, Magazine, November 2013, p58-63.
- Anne Tschida, “A Broward arts arrival” KnightArts.org, September 3, 2013.
- “Rising Stars: The 40 under 40,” Gold Coast Magazine, January 2013, Vol. 49, #1, p 40-47.
- Tom Austin, “3 Gallery Showings around South Florida, “The Miami Herald, October 7, 2012.
- Monica McGivern, “The Rise of the Arts in Boynton Beach: Photography Round Table Discussion,” New Times (BPB), April 7, 2012.
- John Hood, “Awarehouse Takes Miami Second Saturday to a New Extreme,” BlackBook, June 10, 2011.
- Pat Rothblatt, “Happy Septembers” New Times (BPB), Vol. 13, #47, Sep 23 – 29, 2010, 19-20.
- “Sailboat Bend Artist Lofts celebrates Women’s History Month,” Sun Sentinel, Society Scene, April 8, 2009, p 13.
- Audra D.S. Burch, “Living Art,” The Miami Herald, Tropical Life, Sunday, August 3, 2008, 3M-4M.
