Curator and founder of Del Vaz Projects, Los Angeles
In 2014, the curator and writer Jay Ezra Nayssan established Del Vaz Projects: an intimate exhibition space in his apartment in west Los Angeles, named after the Farsi phrase dæst o del baz, meaning ‘open-handed and open-hearted’. Since then, the non-profit organisation has become one of the city’s most important alternative arts spaces, expanding into a curatorial and research platform, independent press and artist production fund, as well as hosting informal residencies for visiting artists, curators and writers. In addition to the programming for Del Vaz Projects, Nayssan organises exhibitions for galleries and institutions; these include Hauser & Wirth Downtown Los Angeles, Marc Selwyn Fine Art and the inaugural series of off-site projects at Frieze Los Angeles.