Casey Mathern, Directormathernc@wpunj.edu Casey Mathern is the Director of the William Paterson University Galleries. Before leading the Galleries, Ms. Mathern held curatorial positions within academic and historical museums, developing exhibitions, programs, and stewarding a range of ethnographic, archaeological, fine and decorative arts collections. She holds an MA degree in decorative arts, design history, and material culture from the Bard Graduate Center in New York City, and a BA degree in art history from the University of Minnesota. She has published about her work in AAM’s CurComm Update, and has presented at numerous academic and professional conferences. She serves as a peer reviewer for professional organizations including the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and as a consultant for the New Jersey Association of Museum’s Artifact Assessment Program. Nadia Estela, Gallery Coordinatorestelan@wpunj.edu Nadia Liz Estela is Gallery Coordinator at William Paterson University. Estela completed her art education at Rutgers University, Parsons, and received her MFA in Studio Art from Montclair State University. She has exhibited at Montclair Art Museum (NJ), Luo Zhongli Art Museum (Chongqing, China), Koki Arts (Tokyo, Japan), Torpedo Art Center (VA), Project for Empty Space (NJ), Agora Gallery, 601Artspace, and American Medium (NY). She is the recipient of several awards and residencies including the New Jersey Individual Artist Fellowship, Newark Creative Catalyst Award, Hayama Artist Residency, the AIR at Project for Empty Space, Chateau Orquevaux, The Vermont Studio Center, Millay Arts, Andy Warhol Foundation, and NYFA. In addition to her fine art practice, Estela is an educator. She was an artist in residence in 2015-2017 for the Newark Arts Integrated into Literature Grant (N.A.I.L) on behalf of the Montclair Art Museum where she promoted fine arts literacy using Visual Thinking Strategies. Her teaching experience includes institutions like the Montclair Art Museum, William Paterson University Galleries, and the Montclair State University, Department of Art and Design. Estela's work weaves abstraction and magical realism into a visual diasporic language that questions borders and memory.
