A conversation about the research, themes, and process behind the ICA's current exhibition, otherwise, through the lens of Assistant Curators Darby Miller MFA ’26, Cynthia Nathan MFA ’25, and JiaAn Waterman ’26.
Darby Miller (b. Baton Rouge, LA) is an interdisciplinary artist merging painting, drawing, found objects, and concrete. Her practice layers fragments of time and material into fossilized moments of being. Through her work, she explores the transitions of self - the way identities crack, flake, and weather over time. Each piece becomes a surface study, where paint peels, concrete crumbles, and touch leaves its mark. Miller’s work dwells in these remnants - the residue of contact, the small erosions that record our shifting states of being.
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Cynthia Nathan is a multimedia artist whose practice spans steel fabrication, painting, and immersive installation. She holds a BFA in Studio Practices from the University of Missouri–St. Louis (Magna Cum Laude, 2023) and an MFA from Maine College of Art & Design (2025). Her work explores themes of Hypervisibility, representation, and beauty through rich material contrasts to create speculative environments and Safe Spaces.
Nathan has exhibited her work in both solo and group shows, including Hung Together and BFA Senior Capstone at Gallery 210 (St. Louis), as well as Peach Fuzz and Pictures at an Exhibition in Portland, Maine. Most recently, she exhibited her MFA Thesis at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Portland, Maine (May of 2025). In addition to her studio practice, she has served as a teaching assistant assistant curator, and gallery technician, contributing to community-based and collaborative projects that center marginalized voices.
Her work has appeared in publications such as Bellerive: Addressing the Self and Brain Stew, and continues to push the boundaries of immersive storytelling through sculpture, scent, sound, and worldbuilding.
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JiaAn Waterman is a metalsmith based in Portland, Maine, pursuing their BFA in Metalsmithing & Jewelry (expected graduation May 2026) from Maine College of Art & Design.
Born in China and adopted at ten months old, Waterman grew up in Groton, Massachusetts. Her work explores cultural history, family relations, and issues related to transcontinental adoption. She creates objects such as hair ornaments, jewelry, and hand-held objects.
In 2025, Waterman participated in the SNAG Metalsmith, Virtual Juried Student Exhibition, juried by Taran Diamond and Masako Onodera. She also interned as a Curator’s Assistant at the ICA at MECA&D for the exhibition otherwise, and will be part of an upcoming curator conversation in October with Darby Miller MFA ’26 and Cynthia Nathan MFA ’25.