Susan Laney, Laney Contemporary Fine Art, Community Collaborator, Savannah, Georgia

Susan Laney is an independent curator and director of Laney Contemporary Fine Art with more than 20 years experience in the fine art market. Laney specializes in photography and contemporary art from both emerging and established artists with a focus on the South. Laney has curated group and solo exhibitions in galleries, colleges, and museums, such as Jack Leigh: Full Circle, Low Country Photographs, 1972-2004 at the SCAD Museum of Art, which was selected by hyperallergic.com as one of the top ten exhibitions in the US for 2014. In 2016, she curated five exhibitions with Savannah College of Art and Design which included; Persona, Stephanie Howard: Time and Place and Eternity, Aint–Bad: Vision to Reality, Kevin Cooley: High Water Mark, and Pamela Wiley: Now the Once. She is currently working on an exhibition featuring the works of photographer Elaine Mayes to open in the Fall of 2018 at the SCAD Museum of Art. From 2014- 2016, she was the curator of the visual arts exhibition for the Westobou Festival with Currents (2014), Story Line: Wiley, Howard, and Moneyhun (2015), and Jowita Wyszomirska: Unseen Patterns (2016).

Her passion for working in support of the arts began with a part-time job at the Jack Leigh Gallery while attending the Savannah College of Art and Design. Laney graduated from SCAD with a BFA in photography and began her career as an exhibition designer and collections manager for SCAD’s permanent collection. In 1998, she returned to the Jack Leigh Gallery as the director, where she worked for 13 years. She has since served on the Alumni Executive Board of SCAD and co-founded the non-profit organization, ARC Savannah. She is the director of the Jack Leigh Estate and manages the legacy of the internationally- heralded photographer. Laney’s expertise is often requested for collaboration with private and corporate clients in developing or enhancing art collections.

Susan has been a great encouragement to SixTwelve Co Founder and Executive Director, Amy Young, in providing guidance and support during the process of building the SixTwelve Residency program and has offered to help in the future as much as possible. Susan’s gallery, Laney Contemporary, is one of the most respected galleries in the region and Susan’s insightful and succesfull curatorial practice reaches across the United States.