MINNEAPOLIS, MN.- The Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota announced Boris Oicherman as the Cindy and Jay Ihlenfeld Curator for Creative Collaboration. Oicherman will begin his position in late June 2017. His selection followed an extensive search by an interdepartmental committee at the University. This marks the first endowed position at the museum and was made possible by the visionary generosity of Cindy and Jay Ihlenfeld.

Oicherman has a wide-ranging background in art and technology with an MSc in digital color imaging from the University of the Arts London, UK, a PhD in color science from the Leeds University, Leeds, UK, and an MFA in Art Practice from Stanford University, USA. His research and practice have included color technology, public art, gallery and museum exhibitions, and a wide range of collaborative projects with scientists, composers, architects, choreographers, and artists.

At WAM, Oicherman will curate the Target Studio for Creative Collaboration, a permanent space that was added to the museum during the 2011 building addition designed by Frank Gehry. The mission of the Target Studio is to stimulate creativity through collaboration across disciplines. Oicherman says, “I envision the Target Studio as a platform for creative dialogue, a platform that will support artists and academic researchers in discovering shared questions that can only be addressed by bringing their diverse disciplinary tools and intuitions together."

“Boris brings energy and a diverse, deep knowledge of both the sciences and the arts. His inherent curiosity and desire to connect people make him a natural fit for the Target Studio. I and our selection committee look forward to the projects and ideas he will generate, creating a place for art within the University and academia to interface with the public,” said director and chief curator Lyndel King.

Oicherman’s work regarding collaboration and outreach includes projects: EmoCity which measured the effect art has on public spaces by collaborating with six universities internationally; and a color matching experiment in an art gallery with artist Olafur Eliasson. His most recent engagement project, 49 Days for Space (Stanford University), was an experiment developed with composer Laura Steenberge to merge the public face of a university with the academic work within its walls by bringing the classroom into a public space.