WHAT IS BATTLE PROJECTS?
BATTLE Projects is an independently run contemporary art and curatorial initiative founded by Erica F. Battle. BATTLE Projects produces new works by living artists, carves out novel narratives in contemporary art historical discourse, and catalyzes creative exchange in Philadelphia and beyond.
Through BATTLE Projects, Erica Battle works with artists in various stages of their careers and arts organizations of varying scales to curate, produce, and facilitate art exhibitions and experiences, curatorial best practices, and public engagement.
Curating
writing
consultinG
events
CURRENT & RECENT PROJECTS
Battle is currently working with artist Tiona Nekkia McClodden to support the presentation of her new installation for In Minor Keys, the 61st International Art Exhibition curated by the late Koyo Kouoh and realized by her curatorial team for La Biennale di Venezia.
She co-curated Michelle Lopez: Pandemonium at The Galleries at Moore, Moore College of Art and Design. Lopez’s new large-scale video installation, titled Pandemonium and produced for her Moore exhibition, is now on view in the 2026 Whitney Biennial.
EVENTS
BATTLE Projects aims to host one event per quarter focused on curatorial work and creative collaboration. These events will include curator get togethers, professional development workshops with innovative thinkers in the field of contemporary art and practice, and idea-based incubation with other creatives. See the EVENTS page for more.
ENGAGEMENT
Battle serves on the Collections Committee of The Fabric Workshop and Museum; on the Community Advisory Committee of the Asian Arts Initiative; and is an Office Hours Mentor with NEW INC, the New Museum’s incubator platform at the intersection of art and technology.
BACKGROUND
Erica F. Battle worked at the Philadelphia Museum of Art from 2006 to 2024 in roles including the John Alchin and Hal Marryatt Curator of Contemporary Art and Interim Head of the Department of Contemporary Art. During her tenure at PMA, she lead and curated significant projects, such as: The Time Is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure with curator Ekow Eshun and the National Portrait Gallery, London (2024); Isaac Julien: Lina Bo Bardi—A Marvellous Entanglement (2022); New Grit: Art & Philly Now (2021); Agnes Martin: The Untroubled Mind (2018); Rachel Rose: Wil-o-Wisp, the Future Fields Commission in Time-Based Media with the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, Italy (2018); Bruce Nauman: Contrapposto Studies, I through VII (2016); International Pop with the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2015-16); and Dancing around the Bride: Cage, Cunningham, Johns, Rauschenberg, and Duchamp (2012). Battle is an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania and the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College.