Meet John Spiak of Santa Ana, CA

Today we’d like to introduce you to John Spiak.

Hi John, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am a Southern California native, born and raised in Tustin. In 1988, I landed a job at a gallery in Orange County, which hooked me on the art world and the thrill of working directly with artists. After graduating in 1994 from Cal State Dominguez Hills with a degree in Sociology and a minor in Anthropology, I moved to Arizona and had the incredible fortune to join the curatorial team at the Arizona State University Art Museum (ASUAM). I was immediately thrust into the whirlwind surrounding our institution’s representation of the U.S. Pavilion at the 1995 Venice Biennale with the groundbreaking five-room video and sound installation, “Buried Secrets,” by artist Bill Viola. As a young curator, living in Venice, Italy, and working alongside Bill and his team for four months was a dream come true, involving venue preparation, marketing, and coordinating the exhibition catalogue.

In 1997, I co-curated, alongside curator Heather Lineberry, an exhibition and performance with Los Angeles-based artist Daniel Wheeler titled “Mascarón de Proa,” a Spanish phrase for a ship’s figurehead. We were fortunate to collaborate with Beatriz Cortez, then a Language and Literature student at ASU, for an engaging performance exploring the nominal space between those who use “figureheads” to represent them and the miscommunications that can result. Since then, Beatriz has remained a friend, and I was able to present her first solo institutional exhibition in 2013 at Grand Central Art Center (GCAC). Additionally, in 1997, I founded the ASU Art Museum Short Film and Video Festival, an annual event that drew over 1,500 attendees to enjoy short films under the stars on the museum’s plaza. The festival had a successful fifteen-year run, providing filmmakers—ranging from first-time to established professionals—the opportunity to share their work and gain exposure through our connections. Our festival reel became highly sought after by festivals like Tribeca, Palm Springs, and Telluride, as well as outlets like HBO and the Sundance Channel, with many filmmakers’ work being picked up at those festivals as a direct result of that connection. The ASU festival not only provided a joyous community gathering but also served as an engaging entry point for our community members, introducing them to the video art programs and exhibitions curated within the institution’s walls.

I feel fortunate to have focused on working with video artists, curating solo exhibitions with artists such as Shirin Neshat, Pipilotti Rist, Nadia Hironaka, and Adam Chodzko, and group exhibitions featuring Kerry Tribe, Rivane Neuenschwander, Connie Samaras, Francis Alys, Alex Bag, S.E. Barnet, and Jennifer Reeder. In 2006, I began to delve into socially engaged practices, co-curating, with curator Marilyn Zeitlin, “The School of PanAmerican Unrest” by artist Pablo Helguera. This project led to the development of ASUAM’s “Social Studies” initiative, featuring residencies lasting six weeks to three months. These residencies aimed to open the creative process, making the “human factor” relevant beyond labels and documentation, and fostering relationships through artistic practice. Supported in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, I curated community-engaged projects with artists that included Jarbas Lopez, Jillian Mcdonald, Josh Greene, Julianne Swartz, Jennifer Green, and Gregory Sale. This community engagement took the work beyond the museum’s traditional exhibition structure and institutional walls, out into the community— a curatorial approach that continues to drive my philosophy of curating today.

During those early days, I traveled back to Tustin monthly to visit family and stay connected to the Southern California art community. These visits served as research and development for curating the group exhibition “Sig-alert,” which opened at ASUAM in January 1999. The exhibition explored alternative routes Southern California artists of the mid-90s used to engage the art world—from artist/creative-run spaces like POST, Deep River, Miller Durazo, The Dollhouse Gallery, and Bliss, to pop-up exhibitions such as “One Night Stands” at the Farmer’s Daughter, Lemon Sky in the Hollywood Hills, the “Three Day Weekends” series, as well as exhibitions at locations like the Hollywood Department of Motor Vehicles, Henry Duarte’s clothing store, and Pavilions Super Market. Out of great fortune, Grand Central Art Center’s leadership reached out to me to travel the exhibition back to SoCal. “Sig-alert” became the second exhibition ever presented at GCAC, marking the beginning of my personal history with the institution, where I have served as Director and Chief Curator since 2011.

Using the knowledge gained over my 17 years at ASUAM, I continue to be driven by approaches that expand traditional practices. Upon arriving at GCAC, I rethought the limitations of our residency structure and the pressures often placed on the creative process. Instead, GCAC’s process differs from most residencies: it is curated by invitation to artists who match our mission, those in whom we believe and are inspired by their past projects. There are no set expectations or required exhibitions to take place at GCAC, but those possibilities exist if the artist desires. We prefer not to receive a proposal in advance, nor do we set timelines; we remain open to follow the artist’s creative process. We want artists to explore, see what interests them, talk to us, and allow us to listen and make introductions to sites, people, or resources that might inspire their vision and project. We have had artists-in-residence living onsite for over five years, others traveling back and forth to visit us over a similar time span as projects developed. Past support for the GCAC residency program has been received from prestigious funders like MAP Fund, CEC ArtsLink, Villa Albertina, and three two-year $100,000 grants from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. GCAC has also hosted residencies in collaborative partnerships with institutions including Fulcrum Arts, Orange County Museum of Art, and UCI’s Beall Center for Art + Technology. Resulting projects have ranged from the 12-part serial broadcast opera “Vireo” by Lisa Bielawa developed in collaboration with KCET, filmed at locations like Santa Ana’s Yost Theater, Alcatraz, and The Actors’ Gang Theater—a project that garnered two Emmy nominations and won the 2015 ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Multimedia Award; Cog•nate Collective’s community-engaged “Regionalia” pop-up activities at public markets throughout Tijuana, Downtown Santa Ana, and the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet—the project’s publication with X Artists’ Books, designed by Stephen Serrato, won a 2020 design award from the American Alliance of Museums; and Paul Ramirez Jonas’ “Public Trust,” a socially engaged work where people made public promises and created a contract with the artist to keep that promise. The project was developed, workshopped, and premiered at GCAC in February 2016, before traveling as a public-engaged artwork presented in Boston, Denver, Mexico City, Cleveland, Houston, Glasgow, Scotland, and Birmingham, England.

In addition to residencies, I’ve curated over one hundred exhibitions in our GCAC gallery spaces, across all mediums, with artists including Southern California-connected Tony de los Reyes, Rachel Hakimian Emenaker, Jimena Sarno, Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle & Tyler Matthew Oyer, Evan Apodaca, Maya Gurantz, Chris Kallmyer, Roksana Pirouzmand, Julia Rigby, Yaron Michael Hakim, LaRissa Rogers, Kade Twist, Alicia Rojas, Renée Reizman, and Roger Reyes.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There are always a few bumps in the road—raising funds, meeting deadlines, juggling schedules—but overall, the journey has been an absolute joy. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work with so many generous and inspiring creative individuals who have expanded my horizons and taken me to places I never imagined. From deep conversations with lifers in federal prisons to connecting with teams at a chimpanzee research center, learning the ins and outs of crematoriums, managing a group of local community members trying out for major league baseball, spending a night on Alcatraz with musicians and crew filming a televised opera, hunting for the drop house where an individual spent his first nights as he entered the U.S. during the ’80s, exploring the world of beekeeping, and hanging out with radical nuns—these experiences have been nothing short of extraordinary.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Most people recognize my specialties in curating video and social practice, as well as my long-term support of artists through artist-in-residency programs. While these are my institutional focuses, what many don’t realize is my deep appreciation for artists working across all mediums. I’ve heard the false claim that I “must hate painting,” which couldn’t be further from the truth. When curating for GCAC, however, I consider the abundance of local institutions and galleries that spotlight painting, group exhibitions, and traditional mediums. We set ourselves apart as an institution and complement the regional offerings by concentrating on less traditional mediums like video, installation, and social practice. I’m incredibly proud of our successes, the relationships we’ve built, and the profound engagement we’ve received from our communities.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Family and Community! My grandparents moved to Santa Ana in 1954, and I spent much of my childhood exploring its downtown with them, my parents, and siblings. I fell in love with the city’s vibrant energy and love it even more today. The people, diversity, and culture here create an unmatched dynamic that fuels inspiration and connection. I’m proud to live, work, and be part of this amazing community! I’m also incredibly fortunate to have a loving family—my wife and three children—who are truly amazing, supportive, and inspired by the creative process.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.grandcentralartcenter.com
• Instagram: @john.spiak

Image Credits
1. Paul Ramirez Jonas, “Public Trust,” 2016. Grand Central Art Center, Santa Ana, CA

2. ASU Art Museum Short Film and Video Festival, 1997-2011, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

3. Lisa Bielawa, “Vireo: The Spiritual Biography of a Witch’s Accuser (episode 10 – Ice on the Sargasso),” 2017, 16th Street Station, Oakland, CA.

4. Cog•nate Collective’s, “Regionalia,” 2014-2019, Grand Central Art Center, Santa Ana, CA

5. Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle and Tyler Matthew Oyer, “Exploring The Nowannago: Kentifrican Modes of Resistance,” 2016, Grand Central Art Center, Santa Ana, CA

6. Julia Rigby, “Fever Dream,” 2024, Grand Central Art Center, Santa Ana, CA

7. Roksana Pirouzmand, “they last forever,” 2021, Grand Central Art Center, Santa Ana, CA

8. Alicia Rojas, “With Honey in the Mouth – Con Miel en la Boca,” 2023, Grand Central Art Center, Santa Ana, CA