Rooted in Culture, Driven by Collaboration
David G. Favret is a New Orleans-based creative producer and strategic advisor working at the intersection of contemporary art, cultural heritage, and project management. He blends operational expertise with cultural sensitivity, supporting artists and institutions in realizing meaningful, mission-driven projects.
Museum Exhibits Around the World
Sydney
Berlin
London
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Since its inception in 1973, the Biennale of Sydney has provided a platform for art and ideas, showcasing the work of nearly 1,900 artists from more than 100 countries. Today it is considered one of the leading international contemporary art events, recognized for presenting innovative, thought provoking art from Australia and around the globe. The Art Gallery of New South Wales is the most important public gallery in Sydney and one of the largest in Australia.
Title: Ten Thousand Suns
Artist: Demond Melancon
Period: March-June 2024
Type: Group Exhibit, Biennale
Location: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
As part of the prestigious 24th Biennale of Sydney, Ten Thousand Suns, this project involved the presentation of Demond Melancon’s beadwork from his Black Masking Culture series, alongside the documentary short All on a Mardi Gras Day. Responsibilities included high-level strategic advising, full exhibition production coordination, and international stakeholder engagement with the Biennale and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Contributions spanned international shipping logistics, customs coordination, exhibition planning, interpretive media integration, and ensuring narrative continuity across cultural and institutional frameworks. The presentation, situated within one of Australia’s most significant public institutions, required curatorial alignment and on-site collaboration to ensure the work’s historical and cultural depth was effectively conveyed. Through detailed planning and partnership management, the exhibition served as a global platform for honoring Black cultural tradition within one of the world’s leading contemporary art events.
BERLIN, GERMANY
Haus der Kulturen der Welt
HKW is a museum located in Berlin and is guided by the quest for strategies of how to live and better inhabit this world together. It is a house in which cultures of conviviality and hospitality are sown, nurtured to blossoming, and disseminated. This exhibit was funded by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation).
Title: O Quilombismo: Of Resisting and Insisting. Of Flight as Fight. Of Other Democratic Egalitarian Political Philosophies
Artist: Demond Melancon
Period: June-September 2023
Type: Group Exhibit, Museum
Location: Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), Berlin, Germany
For the international group exhibition O Quilombismo at Berlin’s renowned Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), production and consulting support focused on the integration of Demond Melancon’s work into a broader discourse of global cultural and political resistance. The project included curatorial advising, cross-cultural stakeholder communications, and logistical planning for the transport, display, and contextual framing of the artist’s beaded works. As a key liaison between the artist and curators, efforts ensured that the work’s cultural lineage and aesthetic complexity were preserved within the exhibition’s ambitious, research-driven framework. Supported by the German Federal Cultural Foundation, the project demanded a nuanced understanding of international institutional standards while remaining grounded in the artist’s community-based practice. From installation through public engagement, the collaboration emphasized historical continuity, cross-cultural solidarity, and a shared vision for radical imagination through art.
LONDON, UK
Victoria & Albert Museum
A unique collaboration with the world’s leading museum of art and design and London’s foremost contemporary design festival. London Design Festival at the V&A fills the museum each September with an extraordinary range of design installations large and small, intricate and majestic. The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects that span over 5,000 years of human creativity.
Title: Black Masking Culture
Artist: Demond Melancon
Period: September 2019
Type: Solo Exhibit, Museum
Location: Victoria & Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom
As part of the 2019 London Design Festival, the Victoria and Albert Museum featured two monumental suits by Demond Melancon in the historic Tapestries Gallery, marking a rare and powerful juxtaposition of Black contemporary beadwork with 15th-century European artifacts. The project involved end-to-end production management and strategic consulting, from early-stage collaboration with curators through transport, installation, and cultural positioning within one of the world’s most prestigious design institutions. Key responsibilities included customs and shipping oversight, interpretive content support, and narrative alignment across multiple stakeholders including the London Design Festival team. The presentation highlighted Melancon’s artistry and cultural heritage within the global design community and introduced a wider audience to the legacy of Black Masking Culture. The result was a thoughtful and visually arresting installation that honored the artist’s tradition while expanding conversations about material culture, identity, and design history.
Museum Exhibits Across the US
Philadelphia, PA
Atlanta, GA
Charleston, SC
Charleston, SC
Kalamazoo, MI
Brooklyn, NY
Princeton, NJ
PHILADELPHIA, PA
African American Museum in Philadelphia
The African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) brings diverse communities together in greater appreciation of the Black experience through the combined narrative of art, culture and historical witness. Founded in 1976 in celebration of the nation’s Bicentennial, the African American Museum in Philadelphia is the first institution funded and built by a major municipality to preserve, interpret and exhibit the heritage of African Americans.
Title: As Any Means Are Necessary
Artist: Demond Melancon
Period: March-July 2025
Type: Solo Exhibit, Museum
Location: African American Museum in Philadelphia
At the African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP), the third venue in the initial leg of the national tour of As Any Means Are Necessary, project leadership centered on managing complex institutional relationships and ensuring consistency across venues while adapting to the unique mission of the host institution. Responsibilities included overseeing the production timeline, coordinating installation logistics, facilitating communication between the museum and the artist’s studio, and ensuring that all curatorial and interpretive materials, including the accompanying essay by Imani Perry and the short film Another Gate to Zion, were seamlessly integrated. Particular attention was given to aligning the presentation with AAMP’s longstanding commitment to showcasing the historical and contemporary dimensions of Black cultural expression. Throughout this phase, the project was managed with a focus on cultural integrity, public engagement, and operational excellence, ensuring a cohesive continuation of the exhibition’s national impact.
ATLANTA, GA
African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta
The African Diasporan Art Museum of Atlanta (ADAMA) is dedicated to curating experiences that are dynamic, sensory-rich, and immersive global representations that are unapologetically centered around the Black experience and expression. ADAMA serves to intentionally deepen Black people’s sense of connection to themselves and the greater diaspora through the lens of contemporary art and culture.
Title: As Any Means Are Necessary
Artist: Demond Melancon
Period: January-February 2025
Type: Solo Exhibit, Museum
Location: African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta
The national tour of As Any Means Are Necessary presented at the African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta (ADAMA), where strategic and production support played a key role in adapting the exhibition to its first traveling venue. Responsibilities encompassed exhibition consulting, curatorial coordination, and stakeholder engagement to ensure the successful transfer of works from the organizing institution. Project management included logistical oversight of shipping and installation, timeline planning, and alignment of programming with ADAMA’s immersive, diaspora-centered framework. The exhibit was presented alongside an original curatorial essay and short film, deepening the audience’s understanding of the artist’s practice. By facilitating institutional buy-in and safeguarding narrative cohesion, the project reinforced ADAMA’s mission to foster global connections through Black contemporary art while maintaining the artist’s voice and vision at the core of the presentation.
CHARLESTON, SC
Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art
The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston School of the Arts provides a multidisciplinary laboratory for the production, presentation, interpretation, and dissemination of ideas by innovative visual artists from around the world. As a non-collecting museum, Halsey Institute creates meaningful interactions between adventurous artists and diverse communities within a context that emphasizes the historical, social, and cultural importance of the art of our time.
Title: As Any Means Are Necessary
Artist: Demond Melancon
Period: August-December 2024
Type: Solo Exhibit, Museum
Location: Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, SC
The exhibition As Any Means Are Necessary was developed and launched at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art as the artist’s first solo museum show. Support for this foundational phase included executive-level oversight of the project from concept to execution, with emphasis on curatorial development, narrative framing, and institutional coordination. Responsibilities spanned early project scoping, development of exhibition content and layout, coordination of beaded works and related media, and production of interpretive materials. Serving as liaison between the artist and the museum’s curatorial team, the role helped shape the strategic arc of the exhibition, which would go on to tour nationally. Installation planning, technical logistics, and the integration of the accompanying film and catalog were managed through a cross-functional, artist-centered approach. The Halsey presentation set the tone for the exhibition’s continued tour, reinforcing a collaborative model rooted in cultural respect, narrative continuity, and artistic excellence.
CHARLESTON, SC
International African American Museum
The International African American Museum tells the unvarnished stories of the African American experience across generations, the trauma and triumph that gave rise to a resilient people. IAAM’s permanent exhibitions feature more than 150 historical objects, more than 30 works of art, nearly 50 films and digital interactive experiences that bring history to life, framed by a gateway to the Atlantic Ocean.
Title: Creative Journeys
Artist: Demond Melancon
Period: June 2023-May 2027
Type: Group Exhibit, Museum
Location: International African American Museum, Charleston, SC
As part of the opening of the International African American Museum (IAAM), this long-term exhibition presented a multidisciplinary collection of artwork, poetry, and film woven throughout the museum’s permanent historical galleries. One of the works at the center of this exhibition is Demond Melancon’s Jah Defender suit, which has become an iconic presence since the museum’s inaugural opening in June 2023. With a focus on artistic contributions that reflect and reshape narratives of the African American experience, Creative Journeys invites visitors to encounter history through expressive, contemporary lenses. The exhibition is on view through May 2027. This project involved providing strategic and curatorial support for the artist’s participation, managing ongoing institutional relationships, and ensuring narrative integrity within the broader framing of the museum’s mission. Services included coordination of installation logistics, long-term exhibit planning, and alignment with IAAM’s powerful, history-forward vision.
KALAMAZOO, MI
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (KIA) is a private non-profit organization which has, since 1924, presented opportunities to the community and visitors from around the world to enjoy and create art. The KIA holds more than 5,000 fine artworks in its permanent collection and presents exhibitions in 10 galleries.
Title: Unmasking Masculinity for the 21st Century
Artist: Demond Melancon
Period: September-December 2022
Type: Group Exhibit, Museum
Location: Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, MI
This group exhibition brought together artists from across the U.S. to explore evolving notions of masculinity through contemporary and historic art. Co-curated by Rehema Barber and Larry Ossei-Mensah, the show included works by Demond Melancon and others whose practices critically engage performance, tradition, and identity. Unmasking Masculinity investigated both inherited and reimagined expressions of gender and culture within North America. Comprehensive support was provided to facilitate the inclusion of Melancon’s work, overseeing technical planning, interpretive framing, and cultural integrity. Institutional advising, exhibition coordination, and stakeholder engagement ensured a meaningful integration of the artist’s work into this timely and complex curatorial dialogue.
BROOKLYN, NY
Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art
The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) uses the visual arts as a point of departure for exploring new artistic production across a variety of disciplines. Through exhibitions and programming, MoCADA incites dialogue on pressing social and political issues facing the African Diaspora, and fosters a dynamic space for the creation and continuous evolution of culture.
Title: A Love Letter to New Orleans
Artist: Demond Melancon
Period: October-November 2018
Type: Group Exhibit, Museum
Location: Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art, Brooklyn, NY
This dual-artist exhibition offered an intimate view into the cultural fabric of New Orleans, featuring the work of Langston Allston and Demond Melancon. Through original artworks and ceremonial pieces, A Love Letter to New Orleans reflected both personal and collective experiences of the city, its legacy, and its people. The show examined themes of identity, migration, and memory through the lens of Black Masking culture and contemporary narrative painting. Services included exhibition advising, curatorial production, and project development. Coordination with MoCADA staff ensured that installation, cultural context, and interpretive materials were aligned with the artist’s voice. The collaboration strengthened institutional ties and elevated the visibility of New Orleans traditions within a diasporic context.
PRINCETON, NJ
Princeton University
In collaboration with Princeton’s Humanities Council and other academic departments and centers, the Lewis Center for the Arts works to enhance the University’s research initiatives in the arts, while fellowships support the work of established and emerging artists and bring new voices to enliven campus with their creativity.
Title: Big Chief Wears a Golden Crown: Art of the New Orleans Black Masking Indians
Artist: Demond Melancon
Period: March-April 2018
Type: Group Exhibit, University
Location: Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
This university-based exhibition brought ceremonial suits and aprons created by Black Masking Indian Chiefs into an academic arts setting. Featuring the work of Demond Melancon and Darryl Montana, the show presented the artistry and legacy of New Orleans’ Black Masking culture. It was accompanied by a public artist talk and panel discussion moderated by Professor Joshua Guild. Strategic advising and production support were central to this engagement, from exhibit planning through the campus dialogue. Contributions included artist coordination, academic liaison support, and installation logistics. This project served as a model for cross-institutional storytelling, bringing living cultural practice into conversation with scholarly inquiry.