Curating The Future

Elarys had been working for Neran's for a month now, as one of their liaisons with the newly open expansion to the Museum of Fine Arts on Imperial Center. The growing charity had been working on fundraising to support new artists. The young professional whose love for education was what drove her to do her part for the Empire, was enjoying getting to work with different aspect of cultural education and see how the arts could further the Empress's vision for her people.

She had been tasked with organizing an upcoming exhibition at the museum that would showcase the work of those selected by the Coalition for Progress, and which would have their residency paid for by Neran's.

The curator, a middle-aged man named Ekat Trosnan, had proved a bit difficult to work with; but nothing that Elarys couldn't handle. Not only were her credentials evident despite her age; but her work ethic was impeccable, even when it meant running on not enough sleep and putting in extra hours. She was set on giving her best for both Neran's and the creatives chosen by the Museum.

A cup of caf in her hand, Elarys reached for the meeting room where she was to meet Trosnan that day. They now had ten finalists but only seven would be interviewed for an availability of three residencies. So they were making progress. The issue was that the curator didn't seem to know whether he wanted traditionally inspired artworks or bolder ones. That had been very unhelpful for the selection process.

"Good morning, Miss Amarank. Good thing you're early as I asked someone to join us today. Hopefully we will finally have our selection for the interviews."

The brunette quirked a brow. As if it had been her doing that he kept waffling for the last week.

"Good morning, curator Trosnan. Who did you invite?"

Right on cue, the doors open to reveal whoever might help them move forward.

Solitude in the vast expanse of space was a luxury. Alone with one's thoughts, no possibility of double-play, logistically simple and wonderfully quiet. Yet the novelty of lonesome adventures does wain with time. Thus, the return to such a populated hub, her homeplanet, the wonder that is Coruscant... it is pleasant. The busy highways of airspeeders and hovercars, the teeming streets, neon lights, billions of people, millions of droids... this is home. There is comfort to be found when walking, surrounded by skyscrapers that block out the sun.

Wearing a shoulderless red dress, fine leather boots beneath, she moved swiftly through the streets with only a satchel and red rose in her hair to compliment the attire. There was nothing particularly unusual about the Human. Her bright blue eyes moved between structures, gazing at the different businesses and services as she went. Blonde hair went down past her shoulders, resting just over her chest. The rose had two stalks, faintly yellow, occasionally moving their stems towards wherever sunlight could be had in surprisingly fast reactions. The Jade Rose was cultivated by upper-class members of Coruscant. A knowing academic would view Lana's wearing of one in her hair as a badge of pride... or a symbol of wealth.

After quite some time of walking, she stood before the titanic structure of fancy pillars, large docking bays and giant banners. The Museum of Fine Arts is not a place Lana had ever been before. The architecture brought a soft smile to her lips.


Walking up the steps into the entrance hall, she was directed by a helpful receptionist and protocol droid towards the meeting room. As she walked, her eyes darted between the artifacts behind glass in passing. These were just the corridors and offices... not the main museum. What relics awaited her eyes to feast upon? Her imagination began to wildly fly into realms of fiction with loose factual basis, imagining lost antiquity discovered through untold dangers and unsung adventurers. Blinking a few times, she was snapped out of her daydream by the protocol droid gesturing to a closed door. The smell of caf wiffed through the air. With a nod, the droid awkwardly jerked forward with a waddle-- and opened the door.

Lana entered the meeting room. Eyes were upon her. With a soft smile, she offered a handshake. "Hello~" she greeted, a calm and cheerful tone. "~My name is Lana."

"Lana Wake~"

Curator Trosnan eyed both women slightly suspiciously; but Elarys had suspected him of being quite the sexist on multiple occasions, so she was delighted to see the guest was another woman. She smiled at the blonde, taking in the little details of her appearance. The young professional was dressed in a dark grey suit with a vibrant purple shirt, while her long dark hair was neatly braided.

She accepted the handshake and smiled at the newcomer.

"A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Wake. I am Elarys Amarank."

The Curator cleared his throat. "I requested Ms. Wake's presence because she is a historical expert, especially in artifacts and we could use her opinion to select the seven finalists we'll bring in."

Elarys smiled, glad that someone might help tilt the scale one way or the other.

"The charity I work for, Neran's, is going so sponsor residencies for emerging artists at the museum. For now we have ten portfolios, and can only bring seven in for a final interview panel before a narrower list are selected. Some of them are in more traditional art forms, which can definitely benefit from your opinion! And we have a couple of them who work in more contemporary, sometimes abstract, concepts."

She had all the portfolios available but she wanted to give a brief introduction the blonde, giving her time to either introduce herself more for the Curator had been quite succinct, or to ask questions about the project.

The blonde's sharp, curious eyes briefly hovered over to Tronsan after letting go of the curator's hand as he did not offer his own arm in greeting. It struck her as anti-social and somewhat rude, albeit common behaviour amongst her previous colleagues. Bright blue eyes dismissed the man, vision returning to Elarys. With a soft smile, she nodded her head in formal acknowledgement of her name.

Pride swirled within her. A historical expert... it is not a title one would place upon themselves. To hear another give her this token of respect, a station worthy of praise, is gratifying. It was not that Lana was particularly humble, just that she had rare few people to give her compliments. Granted, most of her knowledge sources from primary sources, reading within the places she has plundered. Experience was a form of research, right?

"My views are open to you~" Lana cheerfully and calmly offered. "What is the theme of this expedition? I wish not for my personal preferences to intervene with a general subject~"

She moved to sit down at the meeting table, ready to work- her attention was all theirs with no distraction, mind and eyes ready behind a content smile.

Elarys couldn't help notice small things about the Curator's annoyed body language. Having to deal with two women, including one who was high enough in the food chain that he couldn't be horrible about it, was apparently quite frustrating. She was for sure happy to be able to have someone else to talk to. She didn't think the Curator was stupid; but he seemed to lack decisive qualities when it mattered, and she really wanted to move this project along, especially as all parties involved so far were eager to get to the final interview with their finalists, so the winners of the residency could put together their exhibit and continue develop art that would serve the Empire.

"Thank you, Ms. Wake," she replied with a smile. She quirked a brow when the mention of an expedition occurred.

"Oh, this is not an expedition, though who knows what the selected artists will want to do!"

She started the holo projector and soon brought the main information of the ten candidates they needed to look into. It had some basic info, including previous credentials, as well as one of their works included, digital paintings, sculptures, fashion, and architecture were represented.

"We need to decide on seven from these to bring in for an interview panel. Three of them will eventually be offered a residency at the Museum where they will hone their skills, and participate to various exhibitions. I have a more extended portfolio for each of them of course. Based on what was said, I take it that you are more on the archeology side of things? That would be fantastic to have another eye on these artists."

In an equal sharing of suspicion, Lana could sense the vexation in the man. Though unlike the more experienced Elarys, Lana did not know why. Her bright blue eyes gently hovered a gaze towards the silent gentleman, assessing his features, the expression and where his eyes rested. He did not seem to share the same emotions his colleague flooded with. In comparison, she seemed eager and true-- as if this very moment was her life's calling. Of the two, Lana knew which one she trusted most. Sometimes Lana did wonder how different her perceptions would be without the Force. Would she have even known to trust one over the other if she could not feel how they felt?

"Ah.. Forgive me for my ignorance" she offered an apologetic smile.

Her eyes darted between the holograms appearing before her. The bulky boxes, facial images and artistic wonders before her caused a brief surge of excitement in the blonde. A warm smile grew on her lips. "Ziwi'alautha'guosi--" she began with a curious tone. "--Certainly unexpected, but Ziwi is invaluable. His work is influenced by a unique prospective, one empowered through Chiss culture.. a must, in my opinion. Neirla Lim is also a must: one of the last Alderaanian traditional artists. Nearing extinction, her work will inspire. Mmmm.."
A hand moved up to her chin, thoughtfully gazing at the others. Seemingly, the other possibilities required more extensive thoughts, as they did not invoke such emergency passion in her. This was not a bad thing, however. It meant she had to choose between eight other fantastical artists and relegate three of them to be of 'lesser' value. It was not such an easy task.

Whilst her thoughts came into being, her eyes moved back to Elarys. "Archeology?~ I prefer the term 'historian.' Experience does not equal certificated academics whom may know more specific knowledge than I."
Maybe Lana was a little bit humble.

While education was Elarys's first passion and what she had invested most of her own degrees and internships in so far, she was eager to expand her knowledge and see how education could be applied to various aspects of the Empire and how it could improve everyone's participation to a better society. That was why she had accepted to work for Neran's even though their strong involvement with the arts had been daunting for she didn't consider herself any type of expert on the topic, which was why she was glad that Miss Wake had been brought to this meeting.

"It is alright. My skills are in education and event management instead of art history, so I am sure my ignorance on the latter may show up."

While she wasn't one to admit defeat, she also understood the importance of admitting where one might be lacking. Some might consider it a weakness; but if she was upfront about something - while working on improving herself - it withheld power from those who might be tempted to use it against her.

Elarys noticed how Miss Wake's first two picks were some unusual but very valuable ones. She had hoped that a mix of bold and traditional would be part of the finalists. Neirla Lim was still a case that baffled her for an Alderanian artists who had been raised on imperial territory prior to the destruction of her planet due to its strong involvement in terrorism was always a shock, even though her imperial patriotism had always held true even scrutinized by the ISB.

"I agree these two should be among the seven brought here for a final interview," she nodded while scribbling some notes.

She raised a brow at the correction regarding her assumption of Miss Wake's work. "My apologies," she replied politely.

She carried on with a few more artists, including one that had piqued her interest even though she didn't know them personally.

"What do you make of Irlo Vask? His architecture designs are said to be a solid blend of ancient architecture with new technological progress. I personally think that it could help bring interest in older styles from the new generations; but I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter."