Senga Nengudi, Performance with Inside/Outside, 1977. Silver gelatin print. Collection The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York. Courtesy the artist and Thomas Erben Gallery, New York. © Senga Nengudi

500 Capp Street preserves the home and legacy of Bay Area conceptual artist David Ireland (b.1930, Bellingham, WA; d.2009, San Francisco), supporting artists and researchers who work directly with the house and its holdings. Its archival space, the Paule Anglim Archive Room holds more than 3,000 artworks, papers, and ephemera focused on Bay Area conceptualism. In 2024, the organization adopted a collective leadership model, replacing a traditional directorship with an artist- and curator-led framework. Under this structure, exhibitions, residencies, and public programs center artistic experimentation, shared authorship, and new ways of living. Over the next three years, Lian Ladia will continue her research into decolonial curatorial practices and shared leadership in artist-driven spaces. 

The fall 2025 season includes a solo project by Catherine Wagner, who will develop a residency and exhibition responding to the architectural fabric of the house. In January 2026, guest curator PJ Policarpio will curate an exhibition of Trina Michelle Robinson, whose research- and installation-based practice traces the migration of her ancestors from Senegal to Berea, Kentucky. The 2026 summer program features intergenerational solo projects by Andy Vogt and Amy Trachtenberg. Vogt will work with reclaimed materials throughout the house and Trachtenberg’s textile-based installation will also activate multiple rooms. In the fall, guest curator Ashara Ekundayo will organize a major exhibition of Senga Nengudi’s performance-based sculptures. In addition, Ladia will continue her research into the work of Eleanor Coppola and SHIMURAbros for a future exhibition that expands how the house engages with global conceptualism, moving image, and experimental cinema.

Catherine Wagner, Blue Reverie (Untitled I), 2025. Mixed media installation, archival pigment print, custom wood shelf stand, and wall drawing with painter’s tape. Courtesy the artist, 500 Capp Street Foundation, San Francisco, and Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco. Photo: Nathan Kosta

Lian Ladia is Curatorial and Organizational Director at 500 Capp Street, where she leads with a vision that bridges curatorial experimentation, institutional transformation, and equity in contemporary art. In this role, she has developed artist residencies, educational initiatives, and an archive team rooted in mentorship and accessibility. She co-established the Paule Anglim Archive Room to expand access to Bay Area conceptual art histories. Her curatorial leadership reflects David Ireland’s legacy of artist-driven, process-oriented, and intergenerational work, while her own artistic and curatorial practices are deeply intertwined, emphasizing process and relationality. Ladia has organized solo exhibitions featuring Mildred Howard, yétúndé olagbaju, Ann Hamilton, Sherwin Rio, Libby Black, Marcel Pardo Ariza, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Zakkubalan. She serves on the boards of Canyon Cinema, Clarion Alley Mural Project, and People Power Media. Ladia holds an MA in Curatorial Studies from the Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS), Bard College and trained at the De Appel Curatorial Programme in Amsterdam.

Lisa Crossman, Siddhartha V. Shah, Mead Art Museum at Amherst College