ARTIST | CURATOR | EDUCATOR | WRITER
Namita Gupta Wiggers is Director and Co-Founder of Critical Craft Forum. and online platform for dialogue and exchange about craft in contemporary culture.
From 2004-12, Namita served as the Curator at Museum of Contemporary Craft, and then as Director and Chief Curator from 2012-14. Hired to develop programming vision for a new museum dedicated to craft, she oversaw the exhibition, collection and education programming in the transition from the organization's original location at 3934 SW Corbett Avenue to its final location at 724 NW Davis (closed 2016). From 2009-14, Wiggers directed programming during the museum's integration with Pacific Northwest College of Art. During her tenure, she curated nearly 70 exhibitions, doubled the size of the collection, edited and published numerous print and online publications, and oversaw hundreds of public programs.
Today, she works independently, dividing her time between Portland and cities across the US and the globe. She teaches in the MFA Applied Craft + Design program run by Oregon College of Art and Craft and Pacific Northwest College of Art and at Portland State University. She also teaches a summer intensive on curating at Oregon College of Art and Craft.
Current projects including curriculum development, lectures, teaching, workshops, writing, and studio work.
Favorite climb
The Arrowhead Arete, Yosemite
Height
700 ft.
Coordinates
37°43'42.9"N 119°38'09.9"W
“Every problem can have multiple solutions. To see them you have to look at the big picture overall. Don’t limit yourself to just one route.”
I won my first competition back in 2010 at the Mountain West Regional Championships held at Moab, Utah. Sending a 5.13a sport route in a single attempt earned me first place in the Men’s division. Before then, I’d received 1st and 2nd place at a few youth competitions. 2010 was my entry into the big leagues. A couple months after Moab, Utah, I traveled to El Paso, TX for the National Championships. I got second place by sending a 5.13c sport route in two attempts.
In 2012, I won first place in the Nationals held at Acadia National Park, Maine by flashing a V12 bouldering problem. It was my first time visiting the East Coast and I was glad to have been used to Jackson Hole’s more humid weather. I think that gave me an advantage that climbers from drier regions didn’t have. In 2015 I entered my first international competition in Cochamó, Patagonia, Chile. I didn’t place, but plan to for the 2016 championship in Krabi, Thailand.
