CURRICULUM VITAE | TANYA KAISER
VISUAL ARTIST · CURATOR · EDUCATOR
Tanya Kaiser is a Cleveland-based sculptor and interdisciplinary artist working in ceramics, mixed media, and installation. She holds an MFA in Studio Art from Stony Brook University. Her work engages the female body, religion, and institutional power, using material and scale to confront cultural standards of decency, censorship, and control. Kaiser has exhibited nationally and internationally, with recent shows at Heights Arts, Crooked Tree Arts Center, and Woman Made Gallery.
In addition to her studio practice, Kaiser has curated more than 25 exhibitions and developed public programs that address censorship, bodily autonomy, and the political policing of belief and identity. She is an active speaker and panelist, and her work treats the gallery not as a neutral space but as a site for public confrontation, care, and dialogue. As an educator, she encourages students to connect their creative practice to lived experience, social pressure, and contemporary power structures.
EDUCATION
2017 MFA in Studio Art, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
2011 BFA in Fine Art with minor in Art History, Cum Laude, Mount St. Joseph University, Cincinnati, OH
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
(01/2026-03/2026) Group Exhibition, Consider Fires, Heights Arts, Cleveland Heights, OH
(09/2025-11/2025) Group Exhibition, Process and Practice: Crafting Wellbeing, Crooked Tree Art Center, Petoskey, MI
(09/2025 - 10/2025) Group Exhibition, Crafted Couture, Valley Art Center, Chagrin Falls, OH
(09/2025) Solo Installation, The Confessional Womb, IngenuityFest: Forging the Future, Cleveland, OH
(07/2025 - 9/2025) Group Exhibition, Ohio Artist Registry 2025 Juried Exhibition, Patrick Losinski Gallery, Columbus, OH
(06/2025 - 7/2025) Group Exhibition, Down the Rabbit Hole, White Rabbit Galleries, Barberton, OH
(07 - 09/2024 Group Exhibition, Descendants, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, OH
(10/2022) Group Exhibition, anthropologyofmotherhood.com: RESPONDING TO THE OVERTURN OF ROEVWADE, Virtual Exhibition
(09-11/2022) Group Exhibition, Feminist Biennial, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
(12/2020) Group Exhibition, Protest & Protect, Feminist Art Museum, Virtual Exhibition - www.feministartmuseum.com
(2/2020 - 3/2020) Group Exhibition, Fe * Mail * Art: 2020 Postcard Exhibition, A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn NY
(09/2018) Group Exhibition, Faculty Showcase Art Exhibit, East End Arts, Riverhead, NY
(04/2017) Group Exhibition, Sunwood Exhibition, Sunwood Estate, Old Field, NY
(04/2017) Group Exhibition, BODIES: MFA Thesis Exhibition, Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery, Stony Brook, NY
(01/2017) Group Exhibition, Alternatives in Clay, Patchogue Arts Gallery, Patchogue, NY
(09/2016) Solo Exhibition, OMother, Lawrence Alloway Memorial Gallery at SBU, Stony Brook. NY
(05/2016) Group Exhibition, Unbound; 7th International Book Art Biennial, Alexandria Library, Alexandria, Egypt
(03/2016)Solo Exhibition, Echoes: From the Mother, Lawrence Alloway Memorial Gallery at SBU, Stony Brook, NY
(10/2015) Group Exhibition, Art in Clay: Origins, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY
Guest Juror: Judith Schwartz
(5/2015) Group Exhibition, IV: First Year MFA Exhibition, Alloway Gallery, Stony Brook, NY
(03/2015) Group Exhibition, Fabulous Figure, Clay Arts Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
(10/2014) Group Exhibition, Pop Mart, PACMAC (Patchogue Arts Council: Music, Art, & Cinema) Festival, Patchogue, NY
SELECTED SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
(02/2026) Panelist, Decency and Display: Censorship in the Exhibition of American Art, College Art Association
(11/2025) Panelist, The Future of Work in Art and Tech, Creative Meatup
(05/2025) Moderator, Art as Resistance: A Conversation with Women Who Create Change, Kaiser Studios
CURATORIAL EXPERIENCE
AWARDS/FELLOWSHIPS/RESIDENCIES
(2025) Creative Impact Award for Early Career Artists
Assembly for the Arts, Cleveland, OH
Formal public announcement on November 28, 2025.
(2024) Impact Award
Ingenuity Cleveland, Cleveland, OH
(2023) Community Impact Award
Tremont West Development Corporation, Cleveland, OH
(2022–2023) Arts Leadership Residency
Assembly for the Arts, Cleveland, OH
(2016–2017) Goldberger Fellowship
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
(2014–2017) Teaching Assistantship and Tuition Scholarship
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE / LEADERSHIP
(2025 – Present) Board Member, Collective Arts Network Journal, Cleveland, OH
(2025 - 2028) Appointed Member, Services to Artists Committee, College Art Association
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
(2025) Civic Leadership Institute, Cleveland Leadership Center
(2024) Accelerate: Citizens Make Change Pitch Competition, Participant, Cleveland Leadership Center, Cleveland, OH
TEACHING RECORD
(07/2018 - 02/2019) Art Instructor, East End Arts, Riverhead, NY
Renaissance Kid Camp, Drawing and Painting, Sculpture, and Mixed Media
(01/2018 - 04/2018) Adjunct Faculty, Suffolk County Community College, Selden, NY
(01/2015 - 05/2017) Instructor of Record, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
Foundations of Drawing ARS 154
(08/2014 - 12/2014) Teaching Assistant, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
Foundations of Drawing ARS 154
(04/2014) Visiting Instructing Artist, Mount St. Joseph University, Cincinnati, OH
Ceramics ART 140
(02/2013 - 04/2014) Instructor, Middletown Arts Center, Middletown, OH
Art on the Go for Butler County Elementary Schools, Youth Drawing & Painting, and First Friday Sampler
(08/2013 - 09/2013) Instructor, Baker Hunt Art & Cultural Center, Covington, KY
Adult Ceramic Art Tile Workshop
(06/2013) Teaching Substitute, Baker Hunt Art & Cultural Center, Covington, KY
Youth Clay: Hand-building
(04/2013) Teaching Assistant, Baker Hunt Art & Cultural Center, Covington, KY
Youth Clay Workshop
PUBLICATIONS
New York Times, "LOVE: Cynthia Shor, David Church", portrait of couple, November 25, 2018
COLLECTIONS
Alexandria Library, Alexandria, Egypt
Tanya Kaiser is a Cleveland-based sculptor and interdisciplinary artist working in ceramics, mixed media, and installation. She holds an MFA in Studio Art from Stony Brook University. Her work engages the female body, religion, and institutional power, using material and scale to confront cultural standards of decency, censorship, and control. Kaiser has exhibited nationally and internationally, with recent shows at Heights Arts, Crooked Tree Arts Center, and Woman Made Gallery.
In addition to her studio practice, Kaiser has curated more than 25 exhibitions and developed public programs that address censorship, bodily autonomy, and the political policing of belief and identity. She is an active speaker and panelist, and her work treats the gallery not as a neutral space but as a site for public confrontation, care, and dialogue. As an educator, she encourages students to connect their creative practice to lived experience, social pressure, and contemporary power structures.
EDUCATION
2017 MFA in Studio Art, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
2011 BFA in Fine Art with minor in Art History, Cum Laude, Mount St. Joseph University, Cincinnati, OH
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
(01/2026-03/2026) Group Exhibition, Consider Fires, Heights Arts, Cleveland Heights, OH
(09/2025-11/2025) Group Exhibition, Process and Practice: Crafting Wellbeing, Crooked Tree Art Center, Petoskey, MI
(09/2025 - 10/2025) Group Exhibition, Crafted Couture, Valley Art Center, Chagrin Falls, OH
(09/2025) Solo Installation, The Confessional Womb, IngenuityFest: Forging the Future, Cleveland, OH
(07/2025 - 9/2025) Group Exhibition, Ohio Artist Registry 2025 Juried Exhibition, Patrick Losinski Gallery, Columbus, OH
(06/2025 - 7/2025) Group Exhibition, Down the Rabbit Hole, White Rabbit Galleries, Barberton, OH
(07 - 09/2024 Group Exhibition, Descendants, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, OH
(10/2022) Group Exhibition, anthropologyofmotherhood.com: RESPONDING TO THE OVERTURN OF ROEVWADE, Virtual Exhibition
(09-11/2022) Group Exhibition, Feminist Biennial, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
(12/2020) Group Exhibition, Protest & Protect, Feminist Art Museum, Virtual Exhibition - www.feministartmuseum.com
(2/2020 - 3/2020) Group Exhibition, Fe * Mail * Art: 2020 Postcard Exhibition, A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn NY
(09/2018) Group Exhibition, Faculty Showcase Art Exhibit, East End Arts, Riverhead, NY
(04/2017) Group Exhibition, Sunwood Exhibition, Sunwood Estate, Old Field, NY
(04/2017) Group Exhibition, BODIES: MFA Thesis Exhibition, Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery, Stony Brook, NY
(01/2017) Group Exhibition, Alternatives in Clay, Patchogue Arts Gallery, Patchogue, NY
(09/2016) Solo Exhibition, OMother, Lawrence Alloway Memorial Gallery at SBU, Stony Brook. NY
(05/2016) Group Exhibition, Unbound; 7th International Book Art Biennial, Alexandria Library, Alexandria, Egypt
(03/2016)Solo Exhibition, Echoes: From the Mother, Lawrence Alloway Memorial Gallery at SBU, Stony Brook, NY
(10/2015) Group Exhibition, Art in Clay: Origins, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Brooklyn, NY
Guest Juror: Judith Schwartz
(5/2015) Group Exhibition, IV: First Year MFA Exhibition, Alloway Gallery, Stony Brook, NY
(03/2015) Group Exhibition, Fabulous Figure, Clay Arts Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
(10/2014) Group Exhibition, Pop Mart, PACMAC (Patchogue Arts Council: Music, Art, & Cinema) Festival, Patchogue, NY
SELECTED SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
(02/2026) Panelist, Decency and Display: Censorship in the Exhibition of American Art, College Art Association
(11/2025) Panelist, The Future of Work in Art and Tech, Creative Meatup
(05/2025) Moderator, Art as Resistance: A Conversation with Women Who Create Change, Kaiser Studios
CURATORIAL EXPERIENCE
- (09 - 10/2024) Curator, Dreams Never Made My Bed, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (07 - 09/2024) Co-curator, Descendants, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (05 - 06/2024) Curator, I Had Been Young, Vol. 4, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (03 - 05/2024) Consulting curator, Thin Line: Love/Hate Relationship with AI, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (02 - 03/2024) Curator, Look Closer!, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (12/2023 - 02/2024) Curator, Unsalted, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (11 - 12/2023) Curator, Arts Leadership Exhibition, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (10 - 11/2023) Curator, Entertwined, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (08 - 09/2023) Curator, Nowstalgia, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (06 - 08/2023) Curator, Common Thread: Contradictions, Questions, and Lies We Live By, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (04 - 06/2023) Curator, The Animal Kind, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (02 - 04/2023) Curator, Coveted III: Histories, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (12/2022 - 02/2023) Curator, Lateral Perspective, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (11 - 12/2022) Curator, Service Industry Stitch Project, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (10 - 11/2022) Curator, Leigh Brooklyn: All of Me, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (09 - 10/2022) Consulting curator, Borderlands, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (08 - 09/2022) Curator, Journey to Harvest, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (07 - 08/2022) Curator, Handful of Dream Dust, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (04 - 06/2022) Curator, Silent Fields, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (02 - 04/2022) Curator, Coveted II, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (12/2022 - 02/2022) Curator, Future Resonance, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (10 - 11/2021) Curator, Cut From The Same Cloth, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (08 - 10/2021) Curator, The Weight of Time, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (07 - 08/2021) Curator, Sugar (Chapter: II), Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (04 - 06/2021) Curator, Domestic Lands, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (02 - 04/2021) Curator, Coveted, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (02 - 12/2020) Curator, Switch, Kaiser Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
- (01 - 04/2019) Curator, Walt Whitman's Prose and Poetry in Products and Advertisements, Walt Whitman Birthplace Association and Museum, Huntington, New York
- (01/2019) Consulting Curator, Camden County Historical Society, Camden, New Jersey
- (11/2018) Curator, O Workmen and Workwomen Forever for Me, Walt Whitman Birthplace Association and Museum, Huntington, New York
- (10/2018) Curator, Native Turf, Walt Whitman Birthplace Association and Museum, Huntington, New York
- (04/2017) Co-Graduate Curator, URECA (Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities) Exhibition, Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
AWARDS/FELLOWSHIPS/RESIDENCIES
(2025) Creative Impact Award for Early Career Artists
Assembly for the Arts, Cleveland, OH
Formal public announcement on November 28, 2025.
(2024) Impact Award
Ingenuity Cleveland, Cleveland, OH
(2023) Community Impact Award
Tremont West Development Corporation, Cleveland, OH
(2022–2023) Arts Leadership Residency
Assembly for the Arts, Cleveland, OH
(2016–2017) Goldberger Fellowship
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
(2014–2017) Teaching Assistantship and Tuition Scholarship
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE / LEADERSHIP
(2025 – Present) Board Member, Collective Arts Network Journal, Cleveland, OH
(2025 - 2028) Appointed Member, Services to Artists Committee, College Art Association
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
(2025) Civic Leadership Institute, Cleveland Leadership Center
(2024) Accelerate: Citizens Make Change Pitch Competition, Participant, Cleveland Leadership Center, Cleveland, OH
TEACHING RECORD
(07/2018 - 02/2019) Art Instructor, East End Arts, Riverhead, NY
Renaissance Kid Camp, Drawing and Painting, Sculpture, and Mixed Media
(01/2018 - 04/2018) Adjunct Faculty, Suffolk County Community College, Selden, NY
(01/2015 - 05/2017) Instructor of Record, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
Foundations of Drawing ARS 154
(08/2014 - 12/2014) Teaching Assistant, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
Foundations of Drawing ARS 154
(04/2014) Visiting Instructing Artist, Mount St. Joseph University, Cincinnati, OH
Ceramics ART 140
(02/2013 - 04/2014) Instructor, Middletown Arts Center, Middletown, OH
Art on the Go for Butler County Elementary Schools, Youth Drawing & Painting, and First Friday Sampler
(08/2013 - 09/2013) Instructor, Baker Hunt Art & Cultural Center, Covington, KY
Adult Ceramic Art Tile Workshop
(06/2013) Teaching Substitute, Baker Hunt Art & Cultural Center, Covington, KY
Youth Clay: Hand-building
(04/2013) Teaching Assistant, Baker Hunt Art & Cultural Center, Covington, KY
Youth Clay Workshop
PUBLICATIONS
New York Times, "LOVE: Cynthia Shor, David Church", portrait of couple, November 25, 2018
COLLECTIONS
Alexandria Library, Alexandria, Egypt