Independent Curator, 2022-Present
Associate Director of the Augusta Savage Gallery, UMass Amherst 2025-Present
My curatorial work exemplifies an investment in contemporary Black art and sociology. As a curator, I create spaces that invite artists to engage urgent contemporary questions through recurring inquiries such as: Who am I? How has the American and African diasporic landscape shaped me? What is my relationship to spirituality, and how does it inform my work?
I approach exhibitions as sites where time and experience fold onto themselves, framing artists as living archives of influence, memory, socialization, and becoming. I emphasize the preservation of histories both familial and communal crafting platforms rooted in care, visibility, and profound love for Black life and expression. My curatorial vision foregrounds the interplay between personal narrative and collective history, interrogating how Black identity, creativity, and spiritual practice intersect with broader cultural landscapes.
Through my work, Casey creates exhibitions that are both reflective and transformative, offering audiences opportunities to witness, engage with, and honor the full complexity of Black experiences. Grounded in empathy and intentionality, her practice treats art as both mirror and site of reckoning, inviting consideration of what is seen and what has been historically overlooked. By centering care, historical consciousness, and creative agency, Casey cultivates spaces where art, history, and community converge in meaningful dialogue.
2025
GENUINE
LIONEL FRAZIER WHITE III KHALEELAH HARRIS JESSICA VALORIS DESMOND BEACH | BRENTWOOD ARTS EXCHANGE |BRENTWOOD, MARYLAND
In honor of Black History Month, Genuine celebrates the depth, resilience, and authenticity of Black artistic expression. Featuring works by Lionel Frazier White III, Khaleelah Harris, Jessica Valoris, and Desmond Beach, this exhibition explores themes of identity, heritage, and truth through a range of materials and perspectives. Genuine highlights the power of storytelling and cultural reflection, offering a compelling tribute to the legacy and future of Black artistry.
RESERVED PASSAGES
SUSAN MONTGOMERY AND RICHARD YARDE | UMASS AMHERST | AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS
Reserved Passages celebrates Richard Yarde’s exceptional legacy in watercolor and connects his artistic vision to the work of his former graduate student Susan Montgomery, who now serves on the faculty of Smith College. The exhibition’s title refers to the untouched spaces in watercolor painting areas purposefully left unworked, set aside, protected, or withheld. A meditation on a shared passion for watercolor, the exhibition reaches beyond the medium itself. It reflects on the genuine dialogue, exchange of knowledge, and relationship between a teacher and student.
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CROSSING NARRATIVES
ANGEL ABREU| UMASS AMHERST | AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS
As artist-in-residence at Augusta Savage Gallery, Angel Abreu embarks on an artistic exploration of the novel James, Percival Everett’s Pulitzer Prize-winning reimagining of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, told from the perspective of the formerly enslaved Jim. Like the novel, Abreu’s work challenges dominant narratives around race, agency, and representation in American literature and culture. Through visual reinterpretation, Crossing Narratives invites audiences to reconsider Jim’s journey as one of resilience and self-emancipation, offering a bold counternarrative to traditional portrayals of Black figures in classic American texts.
2022
OH SAY CAN YOU SEE
MIKE EASTON | HILLYER I&A | WASHINGTON DC
OH, SAY CAN YOU SEE IS A COLLECTION OF MIXED MEDIA DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS BODY OF WORK IS TO REMIND THE VIEWER OF THE DANGERS OF INSENSIBILITY. IN THIS EXHIBITION, ARTIST MIKE EASTON WELCOMES THE INDIVIDUAL TO REFLECT ON THEIR OWN PERSONAL VIEWS AND FEELINGS. EASTON USES THE ART OF METAPHYSICS AS A PHILOSOPHY TO EXPLORE GOOD AND EVIL AS A FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT IN HIS WORK. EASTON MAKES USE OF METAPHORS AND ALLEGORIES USING VISUALS, SYMBOLS, AND REPRESENTATION TO COMMUNICATE WITH HIS AUDIENCE. THE ARTIST’S ULTIMATE DESIRE IS THAT THE VIEWER WILL WALK AWAY FROM HIS WORK WITH THE DESIRE TO ENGAGE IN COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS THAT WILL INVOKE CHANGE AND EMPOWERMENT.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/art/2024/06/21/art-gallery-shows-dc-area/