Jesse Bandler Firestone is a curator, producer, and writer dedicated to supporting artists across disciplines and bringing audiences closer to the creative process. With over a decade of experience, he has held curatorial roles at Montclair State University, Wave Hill, The Shed, and Residency Unlimited, where he has developed exhibitions and programs centered on conceptual art, queer practice, institutional critique, and experimental approaches to site and community.
At Montclair State University, Firestone organized dynamic thematic exhibitions such as Nothing Under Heaven (with works by Joseph Liatela, Andy Warhol, and Carlo Dolci) and The Backend (with Merlin Carpenter, Rose Salane, and Julia Weist), as well as solo projects for Damien Davis, Justin Cloud, and Joseph Parra. At Wave Hill, he commissioned site-specific projects that responded to the garden’s intersection of art, nature, and social history, while also creating innovative access-driven programs including Beyond Sight for blind and visually impaired audiences. At The Shed, he managed and co-curated Open Call, an expansive commissioning program that supported fifty-two emerging artists across disciplines.
Alongside his institutional work, Firestone serves as a guest curator, lecturer, and consultant through Firestone Arts LLC, collaborating with clients such as the Sugar Hill Museum of Art & Storytelling, Harvard University, Kunstraum LLC, Facebook/META, The Shed, For The Artist, and others.
At Montclair State University, Firestone organized dynamic thematic exhibitions such as Nothing Under Heaven (with works by Joseph Liatela, Andy Warhol, and Carlo Dolci) and The Backend (with Merlin Carpenter, Rose Salane, and Julia Weist), as well as solo projects for Damien Davis, Justin Cloud, and Joseph Parra. At Wave Hill, he commissioned site-specific projects that responded to the garden’s intersection of art, nature, and social history, while also creating innovative access-driven programs including Beyond Sight for blind and visually impaired audiences. At The Shed, he managed and co-curated Open Call, an expansive commissioning program that supported fifty-two emerging artists across disciplines.
His curatorial practice prioritizes transgressive and experimental artists whose work challenges normative histories, amplifies marginalized voices, and proposes new modes of cultural participation. Committed to expanding access to the arts, Firestone regularly collaborates with artists, scholars, and communities to create interdisciplinary exhibitions and programs that reimagine histories, examine power structures, and deepen civic engagement. His writing has appeared in Sculpture Magazine, The Brooklyn Rail, Document Journal, Slate, and Baron Books.
Alongside his institutional work, Firestone serves as a guest curator, lecturer, and consultant through Firestone Arts LLC, collaborating with clients such as the Sugar Hill Museum of Art & Storytelling, Harvard University, Kunstraum LLC, Facebook/META, The Shed, For The Artist, and others.