Experience. Vision. Impact

Karen Comer Lowe is a leading curator, cultural strategist, and art advisor with over 20 years of experience working at the intersection of art, identity, and legacy. Her mission is to expand cultural narratives and elevate voices that have historically been excluded from dominant art world spaces.

Photographed by Joeff Davis

Karen Comer Lowe is a curator, art advisor, and arts advocate with over 25 years of experience in museums, galleries, and cultural institutions. Her work centers on 20th-and 21st-century art by artists of the Black diaspora, with a particular commitment to those connected to the American South.

Karen’s multidisciplinary practice includes curating, advising, and teaching. She has worked with and championed the work of significant artists such as Ming Smith, Hank Willis Thomas, Rashid Johnson, Radcliffe Bailey, Frank Bowling, Mildred Thompson, and Elizabeth Catlett. She has lectured widely on contemporary art, collecting practices, and art movements throughout the United States.

She is a dedicated educator, teaching Art History and Curatorial Studies at Spelman College as part of the esteemed AUC Art Collective. In 2022, she co-curated an exhibition, "Silver Linings", showcasing remarkable works from the Spelman College Museum's permanent collection. This exhibition is currently touring venues across the United States. In 2025, she presented the first comprehensive exhibition of MacArthur Award-winning artist Amanda Williams, titled “We Say What Black This Is,” underscoring her commitment to elevating Black art and culture.

Karen’s impact has been recognized in national publications including Artsy, Elephant, Vanity Fair, and Essence. She has also played a vital role in expanding curatorial discourse through global platforms, including her participation in the Curatorial Summit at The Armory Show (2024, 2025) and Independent Curators International (ICI) at Expo Chicago (2025). As the first Guest Curator of the inaugural Atlanta Art Fair, she brought a regionally focused yet globally engaged vision to the fair’s curatorial framework.

She has led student cohorts from the AUC Art Collective through major international art fairs—such as Frieze London and ZⓈONAMACO in Mexico City—offering direct exposure to the global art ecosystem.

With over ten years of art advisory experience, Karen has worked on major acquisitions from leading galleries and international auction houses. Her curatorial and advisory practice remains deeply committed to amplifying Black contemporary artists and fostering inclusive, market-conscious strategies that uplift historically underrepresented voices.

Photographed by Joeff Davis