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René Paul Barilleaux: Crafting a Curatorial Practice

Release date: June 30, 2024

René Paul Barilleaux, chief of curatorial affairs at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, traces the evolution of his curatorial practice over a 40-year period, including a sustained interest in everyday and craft materials and the handmade. In addition to looking at past projects, beginning in the 1980s, Barilleaux previews exhibitions in development.

This talk was given on April 14, 2024, in conjunction with the exhibition Open Hands: Crafting the Spiritual, curated for MOCRA by Barilleaux.

Related Exhibitions

Lesley Dill: Dream World of the Forest
Open Hands: Crafting the Spiritual

Credits

Producer: David Brinker
Videography and editing: Matt Peterson

Featured Presenter

A photograph of curator René Paul Barilleaux, wearing a blue checkered dress shirt and standing in front of a building

René Paul Barilleaux has been a curator for 40 years, focusing especially on the work of artists outside the mainstream or at mid- and late-career. Since 2005, he has led the curatorial department at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, where he is head of curatorial affairs. With a background in studio practice, Barilleaux’s curatorial interests lie in incorporating innovative presentation techniques to engage audiences in challenging and unexpected ways. Early years at the Museum of Holography in New York thrust him into the world of alternative and non-traditional institutions. Since then, his exhibitions and publications have won awards, including an AAMC Award of Excellence in 2020 for Transamerica/n: Gender, Identity, Appearance Today. Barilleaux’s curatorial approach is collaborative and allows diverse voices to construct an open and welcoming narrative for the public. A native of Lafayette, Louisiana, Barilleaux shares his life with his husband, Tim Hedgepeth, and their dog, Lucy.

In September 2022, Barilleaux participated in a MOCRA panel discussion titled “Artist, Poet, Curator: A Conversation with Lesley Dill, Tom Sleigh and René Paul Barilleaux.”