Said Louis Pasteur, “In the fields of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind.” As a scientist, Pasteur was most likely thinking of his own breakthroughs in the fields of fermentation, germ theory, immunology and vaccination. His famous quote, which is often shortened to the more elegant “Chance favors the prepared mind,” does not discount the element of luck.
However, a mind that has been trained to expect unlooked-for results and is prepared to pursue them in the interest of science or, in Keidra Daniels Navaroli’s field of observation, art, can make discoveries that improve people’s lives.
Before its permanent closing in 2020, Daniels Navaroli was assistant director and curator at the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts in Melbourne, located on the campus of Florida Institute of Technology. The Ruth Funk Center was named after the textile artist who not only gave the school money to build a textile museum, but also donated objects and books from her personal collection.
The Center opened to the public in August 2009; Daniels Navaroli, who received a Master of Arts from Florida State University in art history and art criticism, was employed there soon thereafter, in February 2010.
The exhibitions Daniels Navaroli brought to the Funk galleries presented materials from around the world, focusing on the use of textiles in clothing, ritual, industry and art in modern times as well as past eras.
The final show she curated there was titled “Designed to Mobilize: Propaganda Kimono 1920-1945.” The exhibition featured the ways in which the Japanese incorporated patriotic and warlike themes into the garments of men and boys in an era when Japan sought to gain advantage over foes in countries to the east, and later in the west. Daniels Navaroli wrote the digital catalog for the show, and coordinated with FIT’s digital scholarships lab to design a virtual tour of the exhibition.
Whether curated by her or engaged as a traveling loan, the exhibitions Daniels Navaroli worked on included educational aspects that engaged FIT students and art-loving gallery goers alike.
For the loaned exhibition, “Traditional Arts of the Bedouin,” Middle Eastern students from FIT’s international student body were invited to erect a Bedouin-style tent in one corner of the gallery, to give visitors a taste of nomadic life.
Bedouin style robes and headwear that visitors could try on were also part of the educational aspect of the show, every part of which augmented the 58 cultural art objects on display, without distracting from the objects’ primacy of place in the exhibition experience.
While Daniels Navaroli gives well-deserved credit to the “team” of museum staff members and docents who helped install and present the show, hers was the prepared mind that could envision a seamlessly unified mix of art objects and art education in the same gallery.
Almost a year after she left the museum, Daniels Navaroli says “I still mourn for our community, but I stopped mourning for myself relatively quickly. Being able to use my voice is something that I really valued more than I realized. The layoff for me was not an ending, it was a springboard.”
Daniels Navaroli credits finding her unique voice to the Getty Leadership Institute (now called the Museum Leadership Institute), whose program, Executive Education for the Next Generation of Museum Leaders, she attended on scholarship in 2018.
Offered by Claremont Graduate University, the month-long program began with online class sessions, followed by a two-week residence on the university’s campus in Claremont, California.
Daniels Navaroli says that she met young curators from across the country through the program.
“Everyone there was hungry for how to invest in change, make change and really sustain change. We all wanted to be more dynamic; not just efficient, but effective in what we were doing for our museums.”
While she did not know at the time that her position at the Funk was nearing its end, Daniels Navaroli had an inkling that she and the Funk might not grow old together.
“Even before the layoff, I was taking a wait-and-see perspective. I made sure I had a professional network, so if I ever found myself in a situation such as the Funk closing, I would be ready for what happens next.”
Providentially, the same day that she sent out an email to let her contacts know she was no longer employed with the Funk Center, she was offered a contract to serve as a guest editor for the Surface Design Journal of the Surface Design Association (SDA), an international organization that promotes the appreciation of contemporary textile art through publications, exhibitions and conferences.
Daniels Navaroli says, “The SDA spokesperson wrote, ‘I hope this isn’t a bad time, but would you be interested?’”
With a smile she says: “It happened at the right moment, when I had colleagues call me from across the nation, just to see if I was OK. And that meant so much to me. To have that humungous show of support was overwhelming, and it really was empowering for me in that moment.”
The pursuit of a PhD has been Daniels Navaroli’s dream; her new freedom to pursue that goal led her to apply for the University of Central Florida’s Text and Technology doctoral program.
According to the program’s website, the areas of study and research students may choose include Digital Humanities’ Digital Media; Editing, Publishing and Interdisciplinary Curating; Public History; Rhetoric and Composition; and Scientific and Technical Communication.
“The program was designed to be completed in four years. I will graduate around 2025; that includes writing my dissertation,” says Daniels Navaroli, who notes that the faster she completes the program, the faster she will get back to the life of a museum professional.
Her experience makes Daniels Navaroli a dream catch for any doctoral program. She applied for, and received, three fellowships to attend the T&T program. The Summer Mentoring Fellowship she received means that she starts school this May, instead of in the fall.
“I received a dean’s graduate fellowship from the department; it begins this fall. Then the big award was the receipt of the McKnight Doctoral Fellowship. That was a competitive fellowship; to my knowledge only 50 awards went out for the state. My family is thrilled, my department is thrilled, my dad is mailing copies of my statement of purpose to his old professors.”
She laughs joyfully. “So, everyone is really, really excited.”
Daniels Navaroli stresses that she would not have considered going back to school without the support of her family, which includes husband, Darren Navaroli (“My rock,” she calls him), and their two young children; a daughter who has just finished second grade, and a 5-year-old son.
“My ambition cannot outweigh my obligations as a wife and mother. I talked about it at length with my kids and tried to give them an understanding of what I am doing.”
One day she found her little girl adding numbers on a piece of paper. When asked what she was doing, the child replied, “I’m trying to do the math. I’m trying to figure out how old I’m going to be when you come back from school!”
Daniels Navaroli immediately reassured her that she was not going away to go to school; not like her daughter would when she became college aged.
“I will be here,” she says.
And she intends to stay here, in Florida. Born in Orlando and raised in Sanford, she is a native daughter of the state where her paternal grandfather, a Florida A&M University graduate, was an entrepreneur and business owner.
“He was active in Goldsboro, Sanford’s historically Black community. He served on many boards, including the Sanford Airport and Seminole Community College (now Seminole State College). I grew up hearing about the ways he pioneered civil rights,” she said.
That was back in the 1950s, when white businessmen refused to shake John Daniels Jr.’s hand.
Says Daniels Navaroli, “This is home. To be honest, and don’t get me wrong, there are days when yes, I look at these amazing opportunities for Black and Brown curators in New York, but I think that Florida is the place where I want to make history. I feel like the South is in need of dialogue concerning African Americans. Our history is here. We are really invested in this area, in the community.”
