Two Cultural Powerhouses Reimagining the Art World
Carolina Alvarez-Mathies (left), photography by Natalia Martín del Campo. Isolde Brielmaier (right), photography by Naima Green
Isolde Brielmaier & Carolina Alvarez-Mathies
Two Cultural Powerhouses Reimagining the Art World
By Bonnie Langedijk
When it comes to forging new pathways in art and culture, it’s hard to top American curator and scholar Isolde Brielmaier and El Salvador–born cultural leader Carolina Alvarez-Mathies. Brielmaier’s trajectory extends from chief curatorial positions to academia and entrepreneurial ventures; today, she’s the Chief Strategy Officer of the female-founded global arts and culture firm, Work of Art Holdings (WOAH) in addition to a professor and curator. Meanwhile, Alvarez-Mathies has taken the reins as Senior Director of Institutional Relations at Mexico City–based Galería OMR — which boasts over four decades of shaping the Latin American art landscape — and serves as the first Artistic Director of LagoAlgo, an experimental, public-facing art space that seamlessly merges gastronomy, innovation, and cross-cultural dialogue.
Both women embody an unapologetically multi-hyphenate approach. Between them, they’ve led major institutions, produced boundary-pushing exhibitions, and embraced the friction and freedom that comes with stepping into new roles. And they’ve navigated it all while grappling with questions of visibility and invisibility, discussing how women—particularly women of color—negotiate selfhood in institutions not always built for them. There’s a spirited resolve in how they address subjects like redefining leadership, embracing joy, and honoring their roots on the international stage.
Brielmaier and Alvarez-Mathies also share a deep sense of purpose: from championing emerging voices to confronting systemic inequities in cultural institutions. Whether it’s Brielmaier’s commitment to centering community impact or Alvarez-Mathies’ drive to create accessible, free public art spaces, the real story here is how they’ve each stitched together diverse experiences—from fashion and non-profit leadership to museum governance—to form new blueprints for the industry. Their leadership styles echo each other in one key respect: an unwavering belief that joy, care, and cultural relevance are not just add-ons but the very heart of any meaningful artistic endeavor.
“cerámica suro: a story of collaboration, production, and collecting in the contemporary arts” exhibition at Dallas Contemporary, where Alvarez-Mathies held the role of Executive Director.
We Are Here: Images from the Streets (International Center of Photography - ICP, Jan 2025). Curated by Isolde Brielmaier with Noa Wynn, photography by Anders Jones.
Carolina: You are in every sense of the word a powerhouse, multi-hyphenate woman. How has that been to navigate? Is it something that you sought out or aimed for?
Isolde: When I moved into the art world, it definitely wasn't as fluid and open, as the art world is now. There were still these very distinct paths. You could be a professor, you could be a curator, and to do so you needed to have your PhD. I very quickly realized that I wanted to have a foot in multiple spaces in the art world. I loved working with artists, I loved curating, I enjoyed teaching. I liked the idea of working on independent projects, projects that involved artists, but extended beyond the traditional museum or nonprofit context. As I went on, I did go and get my PhD. I went to Columbia and it was at a time when the art history department there was very traditional. I had moments where I felt like I was rubbing up against something that didn't feel right, but I also tried very hard to stay focused and had a lot of support along the way to keep my eye on the prize.
I think with confidence, with having great experience and having taken on different projects, whether it's a two year contract at the Bronx Museum to do a big Elizabeth Catlett show with the late Holly Block, whether it is coming on board as chief curator at the SCAD Museum of Art and building out their exhibition program, I realized that having all of these different hats under the umbrella of contemporary art and culture was something that really resonated with me. And as I grew more confident, I was able to really embrace the fact that I was in fact, a poly-hyphenate.
“I had a lot of really INCREDIBLE examples whom I look to, Deborah Willis, Carrie Mae Weems, Lorna Simpson, Thelma Golden. These are all black women who are trailblazers in their own right. They really had to hold fast to a strong sense of themselves. .”
Carolina: You are, and have embraced it with such grace.
Isolde: Oh thank you! I receive that. And I had a lot of really incredible examples whom I look to, Deborah Willis, Carrie Mae Weems, Lorna Simpson, Thelma Golden. These are all black women who are trailblazers in their own right. They really had to hold fast to a strong sense of themselves. It took me a while to get there, but I'm in a position now where I have a very clear sense of who I am and how I'm wired.
I'm at a stage too, where I'm thinking a lot about how I can pay things forward and how I can continue to have an impact for the next generation. I know I’m not alone in this work—I think about the incredible women with whom I have the honor of working, including you, Carolina, my wonderful business partner Michi Jigarjian, collaborator and artist Mickalene Thomas, as well as women outside the art space, like Stephanie Horton at Google, Stacie Henderson at Tod’s. They are all like-minded, compassionate, committed, phenomenal women.
Carolina: I can relate to that sense of owning your power and being comfortable in that, but it was also a challenge for me. Having moved around so much for my career, at times it felt like starting from scratch and at first I was molding myself to the spaces I was entering. It wasn’t until later that I too met women of color who paved the way for our generation, such as you, that I got comfortable in my skin and learned to fully embrace all that has shaped me.
Isolde: You've also in many ways existed in these different spaces and you've made an impact. You've allowed yourself to continue to grow while asking questions. It's really important not to just plow ahead with blinders on, but to have those moments where you're checking in with yourself. I think we should be concerned if we don't question things from time to time.
Carolina: That’s an interesting observation, I think it's because I don’t come from a traditional arts background. The questioning was impulsed by insecurity at first and now it has evolved to what you are referring to, self-reflection that leads to growth. I studied fashion merchandising and began my career in fashion, and then I transitioned into the art world. There were many early moments in my career where I was sitting in the discomfort of sometimes not necessarily fitting in and of course experiencing imposter syndrome. Now, when I take a step back I’m able to understand that my skillset is extremely valuable because of all the knowledge and experience I gained in varied industries.
Isolde: One of my mottos is to “get comfortable with discomfort,” because that's the only way any of us are going to push through to create change. Change can be really good, but it's soft and uncomfortable because it brings with it the unfamiliar and the unknown. This can be especially scary when you're not quite sure how you're going to land or whether you're going to land. The other thing that I love that you said, and it's something that I try to internalize, is to see yourself as an asset. It doesn't mean you can't be humble and somewhat modest. In our culture, particularly in the States, the sense of modesty and brushing things off is something that we're taught, in particular as women. But seeing yourself as an asset and knowing that your experiences—even if they aren't “traditional” —are worthy and are what allowed you to have an impact, to look at things from a different perspective, to create, to problem solve in a way that may not be fully internalized in the art world.
Art Arena powered by WOAH, panelist photo, Art Basel Miami, Dec 2024. Photo credit: BFA
LAGOALGO Restaurant, Photography by Ramiro Chaves.
Carolina: Especially during a time when so many art world models, particularly non-profit ones are suffering. Philanthropy has experienced radical change–we are in the middle of a massive intergenerational wealth transfer–new generations give differently, so do companies (the new popes of the art world) and we must adapt. I pay close attention to the way hospitality, fashion and spirits innovate. They have the R&D budgets that non-profits don’t. Sometimes I come across an idea and think: Could that work for us? The truth of the matter is that as museum and cultural workers, we work in hospitality.
Isolde: Agreed.
Carolina: I don't think it's a secret that the art world can be quite insular. It's important for us to remain artist and visitor first, even when, especially when, it's challenging. From the very first moment—how and who do our buildings welcome? Do we only show, or do we teach, nurture and open dialogue? Challenging ourselves and our pre-set standards is vital. Some of the most interesting models I have found are in developing countries.
Isolde: You hit the nail in the head. I've always said that we're in the business of thinking about our customers (read: audiences!), pleasing our customers, asking our customers what they want, and how we can do better. The exhibition exists because the art is there and was created by incredible artists, but also because people are coming to see it and engage with it. To care about people, must be a primary objective! Historically, I don't know if that’s been the case for nonprofits and museums. To your point, thinking about what we bring from other sectors, to a museum context or to a nonprofit context, is super important. Museums are still catching up in that area, both in front of the scenes but also behind the scenes. Thinking about, how do we care for people who make the magic behind the scenes? How do we change or shift culture? I know that you and I have had a number of roles in different longstanding institutions, and often, you're stepping into cultures that are very cemented. What that requires of people like you and me—and often it is women of color—is managing change through an organization. That change is very challenging and it can be very slow going, because it's scary to people who have existed within the formed culture for some time.
Carolina: Let’s dig into that a bit. How do we as women of color manage and often lead change? One of my biggest challenges remains visibility and invisibility within leadership and how to reconcile the two. When I took on an Executive Director role I was all of a sudden thrust into a very public role where your private and public life are both in full view. I wasn’t prepared for that, I don't think it's talked about much–maybe it should be. Managing visibility primarily in white spaces that are so different from my cultural background has been interesting. Not in a bad way, I have just learned when to be more assertive, or when to embrace soft power. It's been a lot of internal negotiating. But frankly, more than race I think it has a lot more to do with simply being a woman in the workplace.
Isolde: It took me a while to be comfortable with being visible in a very literal way. It means on the one hand getting comfortable with being visible and thinking about what that means. On the other hand, when we're talking about visibility—specifically for women and women of color—it's how do you navigate being visible in spaces or in institutions that aren’t used to your visibility or are actually not that keen on you taking up space. Most of these institutions, and this extends beyond the art world, are predicated on our invisibility. When we become visible, there's a tension there. I'm sure all of the fierce women that I just named have pushed up against this quite a bit, I know I have. I wonder, what’s your experience with or thoughts on this? What does it mean to be visible in a space that's not used to seeing you?
Desert Flood at OMR, art by Claudia Comte, Photography by Ramiro Chaves
Carolina Alvarez-Mathies, Exploredinary for Dallas Contemporary.
Carolina: Ha! Now the heavy hitting questions, I was waiting for that. It was really hard. There were moments of self doubt, and at times not knowing where the fine line was of what's me and what's the “public me” that's considered “appropriate” or more digestible with notions we have of executives. That said, we live in a time when leaders are younger, and with that comes the public joining us in a sort of coming of age that’s now even more public with social media. We are expected to share and engage with our generation and younger, but still be able to relate to generations before us whose ideals of womanhood and executives are, well, perhaps hard to swallow.
Isolde: As women and as leaders, we are held to different standards in terms of how we navigate the personal and professional. As the next generation we’re breaking the mold and we're asking the hard questions. All while acknowledging the women that came before us who put the stones down on the path that we're walking and had to deal with some pretty sticky issues.
Carolina: Absolutely, I wonder if they would think it's gotten any better, if true progress has been made. On one hand I think we have, while on some issues it's even harder now. There's just “more” noise to contend with.
Isolde: You and I are coming up in the age of social media where there's visibility and then there's visibility. When we have all these thoughts around “executive presence,” historically, an executive has embodied a stiff, formal, cis-gendered white man in a suit. That has set the tone. You and I are not that. I really believe that you can show up with joy and love. We spend at least 70% of our lives working in the U.S., so you better believe I'm going to show up with some joy during that time. We can think about what it means to be a leader and question what exactly power means to us. I think our answers would be very different from that early image of an executive that I painted. But I also think when we ask ourselves what’s acceptable, who are we talking about? We're in this moment where we have four generations in the workplace. There are swaths of people that grew up within a particular time period that had some overlap but also very distinct experiences depending on who we are.
Carolina: Right. How do we care for our workplace with those generations in mind? How do you show up as you, I think you do it so well.
Isolde: What I like to think of is whose care and wellbeing I was charged with, instead of who reported to me. The way I lead or engage with them is very different from the way I'm being led and engaged with by my leaders. When I post things on social media and my Instagram account, it's my joys, all the places I would love to go, a little bit of my kid, some affirmations. But just even having to question, if I do post this, like, is this going to be “acceptable”? And then I have to backtrack and say, but all the people I know and love, like you Carolina, respond. They are doing similar things, acceptable or not acceptable. This is who I am and I want to stand in my joy.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
