Lillian O’Brien Davis (she/her) is a curator, writer based in Toronto, ON. She holds a Masters of Visual Studies in Curatorial Studies and a BA Hons. in the History of Art and English Literature from the University of Toronto. Lillian is currently the Curator of Collections and Contemporary Art Engagement at the Art Gallery of York University. She has curated independent projects at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, Susan Hobbs Gallery (Toronto), School of Art Gallery at the University of Manitoba and the MacKenzie Art Gallery (Regina). Her writing has appeared in BlackFlash Magazine, Canadian Art online, C Magazine, Insight Magazine and RACAR Art History Journal. She is also currently one of two inaugural Visiting Curators at the University of Manitoba School of Art Gallery.
Lillian’s research interests are motivated by a broader, social momentum to redress power imbalances and historical erasures within contemporary art. Her practice follows pathways of research that explore the shifting nature of identity and consciousness, investigating experiences pertaining to the racialized or feminized “Other”—experiences often couched in secrecy, hidden from view or deemed too trivial for official record.