Nicole Royse began volunteering as a curator in two of MonOrchid’s galleries four years ago, as she shifted her focus from her personal work to the promotion of the arts in downtown Phoenix.
She started at Arizona State University with a degree in art history and continued on to represent and support the Phoenix arts scene locally and on a large scale by becoming a curator and arts writer.
Royse credits her difficult childhood for inspiring her to become immersed in art and to learn more about its historical significance.
“I got into art personally because I had a really chaotic childhood; my parents were heavy into addiction and so I used art to find a way to escape and to kind of get lost in another world,” Royse said.
She said she began painting at a young age but never pursued art traditionally because of her love for writing, which led her to combine her passions of art, history and writing.
“I decided to get an art history degree. I am the only person in my immediate family to go to college and to graduate,” Royse said.
After graduating from ASU, Royse pursued her own art for a few years before and during the timeframe of settling down and having her own family.
“In a short timespan I accumulated about 60 exhibitions in Arizona and even California,” Royse said.
She recalls her great experience of showing her art all over the Valley, but felt burnt out 60 exhibitions later when faced with the challenge of balancing motherhood and work early on in her career.
Her desire to promote and display the arts exceeded her desire to create art on a large scale.
“I took a step back from my own art to focus on reconnecting with the art community,” Royse said. “By doing that I became a curator at the MonOrchid.”
Royse said she utilizes her background and knowledge in research, art business and art history as a volunteer curator, while also teaching her family to appreciate the Phoenix art scene.
As a well-versed art historian, artist and curator, Royse proves her qualification in art by writing for five different publications: Arizona Foothills Magazine, North Valley Magazine, azculture.com, YabYum Music & Arts, and Arts & Culture Scottsdale.
Royse has previously curated four galleries — three within MonOrchid, as well as Willo North Gallery — and is currently a volunteer curator for MonOrchid’s two remaining galleries, Bokeh Gallery and Shade Gallery.
She puts together two monthly shows within Bokeh and Shade galleries as MonOrchid’s main curator.
“I also go around with my kids and I go and I see all of these different shows at different museums, and I try to attend as many events as I can so I can connect with artists in the community,” Royse said.
She said three of her favorite art scenes and locations include Tempe Center for the Arts, the Phoenix Art Museum and the Old Town Scottsdale art scene overall.
Royse voiced her appreciation for colorful, textured and modern pieces of art and has worked with a variety of artists from Navajo cultural painters to 3D sculpture artists.
Local multimedia artist Cherie Buck-Hutchison said her relationship with Royse began in March 2015 while the two worked together on the Feminism Today exhibition. Buck-Hutchison said Royse worked diligently to put the show together.
In the May 2016 MonOrchid Shade Gallery show, Royse brought together Navajo multimedia artist Jeff Slim and Navajo musician Ryan Dennison in the exhibition “Bilá Ashdlá’ (Five Fingered People).”
Royse also collaborated with many local female artists in the art exhibition Feminism Today. Feminism Today brought together prominent multigenerational female artists within Arizona. They ranged in age from 30s to 70s, and their mediums ranged from sculpture to aerosol painting to acrylic painting.
“That [Feminism Today] was a great experience and I think she really has a good concept of what curating is by bringing women into the show, but not excluding men,” Buck-Hutchison said.
Buck-Hutchison said that Royse is very professional, upbeat and a delight to work with. She said Royse is also very inclusive in immersing her children into the Phoenix art scene.
“I think she is very sophisticated about how she involves her children,” Buck-Hutchison said. “She chooses carefully what she takes them to and how they can interact.”
Their relationship strengthened as Royse curated Buck-Hutchinson’s Conjuring the Consecrated photography exhibition.
“She works hard to promote artists in Arizona,” Buck-Hutchison said. “Royse is the first to celebrate and congratulate local artists’ success.”
Wayne Rainey, owner of MonOrchid gallery since its start in 1999, said that he has known and worked with Royse for about four years.
“She began as an associate curator and she did so well that we moved her up,” Rainey said. “We regularly work together and she is a great curator.”
Rainey said that Royse has completed approximately 50 exhibitions with MonOrchid at both the Shade Gallery and Bokeh Gallery in her four years with the art gallery.
“She is extraordinarily well-suited to deal with all artists,” Rainey said.
With Rainey and Royse collaborating to showcase one show per month, they are able to curate and plan a year or two in advance as they navigate through a steady flow of submissions. They typically tackle exhibition setup within a couple days.
“I haven’t seen a bad month in years,” Rainey said.
Rainey said that Royse makes the difficult process of artists showing their own work easier by planning out months — or even a couple of years — ahead.
She has helped showcase a plethora of artists through her dedication to MonOrchid and the Phoenix art scene by bringing in a diverse range of cultures, ethnic backgrounds and mediums.
Contact the author at brianna.bradley@asu.edu. Contact the columnist at Holly.Bernstein@asu.edu.
