Hayley Ferber

Biography

Hayley Ferber is a Brooklyn-based contemporary arts facilitator, curator, educator, and artist. She previously served as the Operations Director at The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center and Deputy Director of Chashama, where she supported a creative community of multidisciplinary artists.

In her independent curatorial practice, Hayley has curated exhibitions for institutions including Residency Unlimited, SVA Residencies, Lichtundfire, Equity Gallery, New York Artists Circle and The Yard: Williamsburg. She has also collaborated with artists from ISCP, NARS Foundation, Kunstraum LLC and Art Cake. As a guest juror, she has contributed to panels for NYSCA, DCLA, Brooklyn Arts Council, and Queens Council on the Arts.

As an artist, Hayley explores nautical themes through artist books, printmaking, and painting, with her work exhibited at spaces such as the Kalamazoo Book Art Center, Rockaway Artist Alliance, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, 440 Gallery, 92Y, and Aqua Art Miami among others. Hayley loves sharing her artistic passions and practices and has taught workshops at institutions including the Swiss Institute, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and Brooklyn Public Library.

Hayley holds an MAT in Art & Design Education from RISD and a BS in Studio Art from NYU. Follow her work at www.hayleyferber.com or on Instagram @hayleyferber.

Artist statement

My work explores nautical and maritime themes, investigating sea life, ships and cartography as symbols for struggle, hope and discovery. Drawing inspiration from scrimshaw, my artist books, block prints and paintings play on the idea of the medium as a vessel or compendium, identifying common aspects of the human condition through whimsical musings. There is a lighthearted element to my work that often supersedes underlying peril, prompting the viewer to look deeper past an initial sense of joy or calm and contemplate greater issues such as climate change.