Chelsey Luster

I woke up at 7:00 a.m. to my alarm and three cats waiting at my bedroom door. After kissing my fiancé, I began getting ready for the day. I checked my emails before heading to Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens to see if any artwork had sold online from the exhibition I installed last week, showcasing 122 pieces by London-based artist Stephen Wright. We had a book signing last night, so I was pretty tired and planned to work from home for half of the day.

I drove from West to South Philly, spending about 20 minutes searching for parking. I’m usually the first one in the office and I spent the first hour going through emails, updating the exhibition sales binder, and reviewing my calendar. Four artworks had sold online overnight, so I marked those with red dots in the galleries, removed them from the website, and updated the exhibition binder.

Today, I coordinated pick-up times with buyers from my last exhibition, “After the Flowers Pass: Works by Amir Khadar,” and I wrapped and boxed the pieces for their collection. After those artworks were packaged, I spent some time reorganizing my packaging materials (they are always a mess after a big exhibition transition).

For the past two weeks, we’ve been hosting Stephen and his husband in our residency space. I checked in with them this morning to arrange tickets for the Fabric Workshop and Museum before they head to New York tomorrow.

As a member of the DEAI committee at PMG, I participated in a six-hour online Diversity and Inclusion course to prepare for the entire staff. I left work at 1 p.m. to complete the training from home. When I arrived home, I made carbonara for my fiancé and me, and we enjoyed lunch together before working separately.

In the evening, I walked over to my coworker’s house to pet sit for her and her wife. After caring for their pets, I continued working on the DEAI training for a few more hours. Once I finished, I spent about an hour applying for the RAIR residency and working on an application for a group exhibition centering on queer art, all while listening to the new Doechii album.

@ChelseyLusterArt