Danielle Byerley

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Biography:

Danielle Byerley (she/her) is an art historian, curator, writer, poet, and dancer from Temecula, California. At UCSD, she is a PhD Candidate in Art History, Theory, and Criticism, with a specialization in Modern and Contemporary Art of the Americas. Her current research explores the role of installations at music festivals and intentional communities, addressing how artworks configure social space and facilitate ecstatic experiences.

Danielle earned her MA in the History of Art and Archaeology at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and her BA in Art History at UCLA. Her master’s thesis examined James Turrell’s Roden Crater through geographic, sociological, and geological lenses to reveal how this work of Land Art interacts with and appropriates the landscape and Indigenous cultures.

Since serving as a founding committee member of the Gender and Sexuality Forum at the Institute of Fine Arts, Danielle has continued to apply queer and feminist lenses in her research. She was a curatorial intern at the Jewish Museum, New York, from 2022 to 2023, conducting research on Jewish art and culture for exhibitions and recent acquisitions. She has written for Sartle.com (https://www.sartle.com/profile/danielle-byerley), a website dedicated to inspiring new art lovers through an irreverent and comedic approach to scholarly art historical writing. Danielle’s poetry and dance practice delves into her relationships with herself and the world around her, reflecting on her personal experiences and the broader socio-political and cultural spheres. She is also working on her first novel (title forthcoming), a magical realist exploration of mental illness, mythologies, and ancestral histories.