Kristin Chambers, her husband Jeffrey Dollinger, and their one-year-old son Simon moved to Los Angeles on Monday. Kristin worked as a curator in Cleveland for nearly ten years. We invited her to our home/gallery last week to say goodbye and to share some parting thoughts with us and Cool Cleveland readers.

Kristin Bly: A few weeks ago you mentioned that when you moved to LA you might like to pursue a career outside of the arts. Stemming from that, my question is this: How has being a producer of art exhibitions affected you as a consumer of art?

Kristin Chambers: It's very cyclical in a way, because depending on where I was creatively, that impact how I looked at art. For instance, if I would be working a show that I was excited about, I would be very energized about looking at a lot of art. But when I was working on a show that wasn't coming together, I'd feel all of this pressure, and I found that I was missing the elemental reaction to art because I was so burdened. Right after I left MOCA I had to go to New York for something and I gave myself a break, I saw some friends, visited galleries, but I didn't do a lot of dealer meetings. It was the best trip I ever had - it was really fun. Whenever you make any passion your job, some of the pure joy gets taken away. I've known what I wanted to do since I was in high school, and I've accomplished a lot of those goals. Now I don't know what is next. I recently read an article that said most interesting people enjoy five different careers in their lives. So I thought maybe I should try something else. On the other hand, I don't know if I'm ready to let go. Art is so much a part of me.

LB: It's interesting to hear you say that because when I was making a living at a non-art job, I always felt like something was missing, or that I was still being pulled toward the art world. I think that's why I started to make art, because it was something I could do in my free time, outside of the nine-to-five drudgery.

LB: I think your greatest contribution to Cleveland's art community has been the number of artist books and exhibition catalogs you produced while you were at MOCA. Can you talk about those projects?

KC: The thing with books is that they are the icing, and a nice perk to both artists and funders. They are also the first things [in an institution's budget] to be cut. So when I started at MOCA, I really lobbied to make sure books stayed a part of the budget. Books are the only way that an institution in Cleveland can build a national stature, because for the most part, people don't come here to view art. Books are the currency of the art world. And, they attract artists to work with you.

KB: What does Cleveland's art community need?

KC: The community needs a stronger gallery system, coupled with some good MFA programs that would keep more working artists here. I think that there needs to be more of a multi-disciplinary approach to the arts... Maybe something more Wexner [Center] like.

KB: What will you miss about Cleveland?

KC: I'll miss having a big impact on a community...although I am looking forward to being anonymous for a while.

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