Yaelle Amir is a curator and educator currently based in Portland, OR. Her writing and curatorial projects focus primarily on artists whose practices supplement the initiatives of existing social movements—rendering themes within those struggles in ways that both interrogate and promote these issues to a wider audience. She has independently curated exhibitions at Artists Space (NY), CUE Art Foundation (NY), Franklin Street Works (CT), ISE Cultural Foundation (NY), The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts (NY), Marginal Utility (PA), the Wallach Art Gallery at Columbia University (NY), and HOLDING Contemporary (OR), among other institutions. Her writing has appeared in numerous art publications including Art in America, ArtLies, ArtSlant, ArtUS, Beautiful/Decay, and Sculpture Magazine, as well as several exhibition catalogues and artist monographs. She has also worked at major art institutions, such as the International Center of Photography (NY), the Museum of Modern Art (NY), and NYU's Institute of Fine Arts. Yaelle is the recipient of several curatorial fellowships and awards by regional and national organizations from the Regional Arts and Culture Council in Portland to The Luminary in St. Louis and the Art & Law Program in New York. Her programs have taken place in art institutions throughout the U.S., including Portland’s Newspace Center for Photography, where she was Curator of Exhibitions & Public Programs from 2015 to 2017. She curated the 2019 Portland Biennial (along with Elisheba Johnson and Ashley Stull Meyers), and was recently the 2020-2021 Curator-in-Residence at University of Oregon's Center for Art Research (CFAR). She is Commissioning Editor (2022-2024) for Critical Conversations, a publishing platform spearheaded by the Ford Family Foundation and University of Oregon. She recently taught curatorial studies and professional practice at Lewis & Clark College.

Yaelle interacting with Maria Móran Jahn’s Careforce installation in the exhibition ACTING ON DREAMS at Franklin Street Works

Yaelle interacting with Maria Móran Jahn’s Careforce installation in the exhibition ACTING ON DREAMS at Franklin Street Works