May Makki

May Makki is a curator and writer interested in the infrastructural possibilities of exhibition-making. She is Associate Curator at Storefront for Art and Architecture and is currently curating Radical Copies at the National Gallery of Kosovo, opening March 2026.

Prior to joining Storefront, Makki was Co-Curator of the Third Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale (2026). From 2022–2025, she was part of the curatorial team in the Department of Media and Performance at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, where she curated exhibitions, screenings, and public programs including Martin Beck: Last Night, An Evening with Haig Aivazian, and the collection display of works by Tala Madani.

She was the 2024–2025 Curatorial AIRspace resident at Abrons Arts Center, in partnership with Artists Alliance Inc., and has held research positions at MoMA PS1 and the Wallach Art Gallery at Columbia University. She holds an MA from the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College and a BA in Art History from the University of Chicago.

may.makki@gmail.com

RISO BAR

Pollock Gallery at Southern Methodist University
Jan 25-Dec 15, 2020

The risograph is a printing technology defined by its relative simplicity and the possibilities it offers for experimentation. Invented in Japan in the 1980s, the risograph was imagined as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to photocopy machines. In subsequent decades, riso has transformed into a definitive creative tool in art, design and publishing circles, with a global network of artists, designers, publishers, studios and institutions. RISO BAR is a collaborative exhibition that engages with the risograph as a tool for learning and experimentation.

Over the course of the exhibition, a risograph machine will be available for public use. The machine forms the core of the exhibition: it is what we learn with, practice with, and make with. Visitors will create artworks and publications of their own. A series of programmed workshops led by riso producers from Texas and elsewhere will allow visitors to develop and expand both their skills and knowledge of riso history and practices.These workshops will be free and open to the public.

In collaboration with the SMU Hamon Arts Library the exhibition will include a curated library of riso books and zines from all over the world, as well as fresh juices from Recipe Oak Cliff playing off the ideas of the RISO BAR.

RISO BAR is a space of collective learning and skill-building, a launch pad that will develop into an extant riso press in Dallas after the show comes to an end.

RISO BAR is a collaborative initiative between Strange Powers Press, May Makki, Finn Jubak, Recipe Oak Cliff and the SMU Hamon Arts Library.

Press: