Julia Paoli (born in Toronto, Canada) is a curator based in Toronto where she is currently Director & Curator at Mercer Union, a centre for contemporary art. She provides leadership for the centre’s mandate to support the production of new and experimental work. In her role she has organized exhibitions including: Onyeka Igwe: The real story is what’s in that room (2021); Erdem Tasdelen: A Minaret for the General’s Wife (2021); Native Art Department International: Bureau of Aesthetics (2020); Laure Prouvost and Jonas Staal: Obscure Union (2019); Bambitchell: Bugs and Beasts Before the Law (2019); Beatrice Gibson: Plural Dreams of Social Life (2019); Evan Calder Wiliams and Anne Low: The Fine Thread of Deviation (2018); and Sophia Al Maria: Black Friday (2018). She was previously Associate Curator at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery (2017-2012) where she curated projects such as Emily Mast: The Cage is a Stage (2016); Leslie Hewitt: Collective Stance (2016); Bik Van der Pol: Eminent Domain (2015); The Mouth Holds the Tongue (2015); Julia Dault: Color me Badd (2014); Mike Nelson: Amnesiac Hide (2014); and Jimmy Robert: Draw the Line (2013). She is the editor of Draw the Line, a critical reader on the work of Jimmy Robert published by The Power Plant as part of its series Power Plant Pages. In 2011 Paoli received her MA from the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College where she commissioned new works by artists A.K. Burns and MPA.
Participated in the “Contingencies of Care” Residency, 2021