Debra Scacco
Artist, curator and creative strategist Debra Scacco works in the interconnected space of community, culture, history and environment. Site-specific public works can be seen at LAX Airport, Los Angeles State Historic Park and the Statue of Liberty. Previous exhibitions include Royal Academy of Arts (London), Descanso Gardens, Victoria and Albert Museum (London) and Charlie James Gallery; with work in collections including Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and Hammer Museum. Previous and current projects are supported by The Getty Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.
She is Founding Director of Air, and of a PPE response that will donate 100,000 face-shields to Los Angeles County medical workers. She was the inaugural Artist-in-Residence at Ellis Island Museum (2012), and is recipient of a Cultural Trailblazer Award (Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, 2019-20).
Debra Scacco’s transdisciplinary practice thrives in the in-between: the space between lines, pause between words, distance between origin and destination. Reflecting community, history and ecology, her work acknowledges interconnected and historic structures of permission that shape our nation. Through research, collaboration, participation and investigation, her projects frame how “history” is told and by whom, while highlighting truths intentionally silenced. Site-specific projects focus on contemporary complexities including urbanization, ecological feedback loops, immigration or histories of erasure.
Scacco’s work often births multi-year projects uniting storytellers, institutions and archives. Rooted in cartography and archival processes, her works draw a line from past to present, honoring the experience of our elders to shape a better tomorrow.
