Tanya Gayer is a curator and writer based in Sheboygan, WI. Her curatorial projects and research examine archives, databases, collections, and algorithmic processing to recognize how these systems of categorization and preservation impact the formation of identity and culture. Gayer received her dual master’s degree in Curatorial Practice and Visual + Critical Studies from California College of the Arts and her BFA from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Recent curatorial projects include: Good to See You: Ilana Harris-Babou and Yoshie Sakai (2026); How do you throw a brick through the window (2026); Sarah Rowe: Water Ledger (2025); Workplace: Justin Favela (2024); and Morehshin Allahyari: ماه طلعت Moon-faced (2023). Gayer has written catalog essays for: René Treviño: Stab of Guilt at Wellin Museum of Art; Alexandra Robinson: Delimitations, or words to live by at Women & Their Work; Rhonda Holberton: Still Life at CULT Exhibitions; Martin Wong: Painting is Forbidden at Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art; among others. Previous curatorial projects have exhibited at Adobe Books Backroom Gallery; CTRL + SHFT; Embark Gallery; Gray Area; Hubbell Street Galleries; Pro Arts Gallery; Root Division; Sonoma Valley Museum of Art; Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts; among many more. She has been in residence at ACRE; Rogers Art Loft; Wassaic Project; Picture Berlin; and Signal Culture. Gayer has lectured at Tufts University; UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, University of Mississippi, California College of the Arts, and at the CODAME Art + Tech Festival. She has held curatorial and exhibition management positions at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Soundwave, among others. She is currently an Associate Curator at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center.

Email me at: tanyagayer [at] gmail [dot] com