Naomi Lev is a curator, strategic & programming director, and arts writer.

Naomi Lev is a curator, programming and strategic director, and arts writer with more than 15 years of experience overseeing exhibitions, creating programs and events, securing funding and partnership support for projects, and working with artists, curators, collectors, and community groups to expand access to and conversation about the contemporary art field.

Most recently Lev served as the Director and Chief Curator of EFA Project Space (The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts), where she directed and organized 14 exhibitions featuring more than 160 artists and 19 curators, produced 10 publications and exhibition catalogues, and collaborated with educational institutions, social justice entities, and community organizations to produce more than 50 programs/special events. As part of this role, Lev also revamped and directed the SHIFT artist residency program.

As a curator Lev focuses her work on “Process Curating,” which supports the artists’ process and development into the final exhibition platform. Recently curated shows include: “Words and Actions” (BG, NY/online), “LAZYBOY” (NY), "Headlines" (NY), “With Passion” (NY), “in, side – throughout” (NY), and “Preliminary Study: RSI-T” (NY and MI). She also previously hosted a series of talks at Independent Curators International (2013-2014); curated a conversation and performative-monologue with Jonathan Meese (2013); and artistically directed a series of talks and panels with Vito Acconci (2011).

She has served as a visiting critic, curator, and juror, at various institutions, including: CCS Bard, UMass, Hunter College MFA, MA Curatorial Practice SVA, Residency Unlimited, NARS Foundation, Parsons BFA, The Savannah College of Art and Design, Urban Glass, Asylum Arts, Bronx Council on the Arts, and more.

Lev was a contributing editor at Creative Time Reports, and contributes to international magazines such as, ARTFORUM.com, The Brooklyn Rail, Artcritical.com, TOHU Magazine, and BOMB Magazine, among other publications.

In 2016 Lev founded the group Collective_View which is an all-women art professionals group. This intimate group meets monthly to discuss our roles as women in the art world and in society at large. The group has recently created a few home-based exhibitions titled “Private View” and “Shared View” which can be viewed on our Instagram account: @_collectiveview_. Other recent shows include: an IRL pop-up show at Pradice Palase, as well as a three-part show titled “Horse Gift” @artlotbrookyn.

During New York’s first lockdown in March of 2020, Lev has launched a YouTube channel titled “7 Minutes with Naomi,” in which she virtually met with artists and art professionals from around the globe to discuss their current state and look at their work and process. Another project, Artistsandwriters4ever.com is an online platform that connects artists and art-professionals and offers a work-per-work barter between its  participants.

She holds an MFA from the Art Criticism & Writing program from the School of Visual Arts in NYC, and is currently completing her NYU Arts Management Certificate.