Today we’d like to introduce you to Nic Cherry.
Hi Nic, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My background is in theater directing and spatial design, which gradually evolved into a career in gallery and museum exhibitions. That foundation in narrative, spatial environments, and public catharsis still shapes everything I do. I’ve always been drawn to the behind-the-scenes mechanics of how big creative ideas become real experiences, whether I’m working with contemporary artists, fashion archives, or public installations.
For nearly a decade, I worked in Saint Paul, Minnesota, producing artist projects with Public Art Saint Paul. That role grounded me in community collaboration and complex, site-specific work. I then spent four years directing international museum exhibition installations, traveling extensively, often leaving for one job without knowing when I’d be home again. It was high-pressure, high-reward work that taught me how to stay adaptive and sharp across cultural and institutional contexts.
In 2020, Barrett Barrera Projects offered me a role that brought together all of those threads: storytelling, logistics, design, and risk-taking. I relocated to St. Louis to join the team, drawn to their ethos, their artist roster, and their commitment to work that doesn’t fit into traditional boxes.
At home in St. Louis, I live with my husband, Willie, and our two tiny, highly opinionated dogs, Whispers and Cinder-Bear, who run the household with very little oversight. We built our house in The Grove during the pandemic, and it reflects our shared love of modern design, gothic theatricality, and an unreasonable number of houseplants, many of which seem to be judging us. One of my favorite creative outlets is a seasonal, eight-part dinner series we host throughout the year to honor and mark the passage of time. It’s equal parts dinner party and secular ritual, blending experimental cooking with symbolism, gesture, and just enough performativity to feel like a shared spell.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned working with artists and creatives is that there’s no such thing as a standard operating procedure for creative work. Every project brings its own logic, its own needs, and its own friction points. My job is to meet that ambiguity with clarity and to build systems that support the process without constraining it. Over time, that’s become a core strength of mine: figuring out how to make big, creative ideas operational without losing what makes them powerful.
Earlier in my career, I assumed I would be the one making the work. I trained as a theater director and designer and imagined a life built around rehearsal rooms and creative output. But I also knew I wanted a home life: something stable, grounded, and intentional. That didn’t pair easily with the instability of freelance creative paths. Arts administration gave me another way in. What started as a shift in direction eventually became the place where I do my best work. Helping artists do theirs, building the systems and environments where ideas can land and grow, has become the part I care about most. It’s not a fallback. It’s the center.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
At Barrett Barrera Projects, I serve as Director, overseeing exhibition design, logistics, and collections management across our portfolio. My role bridges creative direction and operational strategy—developing spatial layouts, drafting floorplans, managing collections movement, and planning installations to ensure that ambitious ideas are realized with precision and care.
BBP’s projects often merge fashion, photography, and contemporary art into experiences that are emotionally layered. As our touring exhibitions program continues to grow, much of our focus has shifted toward building systems and strategies that support long-term sustainability and scale.
A defining project has been Lee Alexander McQueen & Ann Ray: Rendez-Vous, a touring exhibition that has received the CSA Richard Martin Award (2024), a Red Dot Design Award (2023), and a MUSE Design Award (2023). Supporting the design and execution of that show across multiple venues has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my career.
Working with the team at BBP has been one of the most fulfilling parts of this role. Collaborating with colleagues who care deeply about both the process and the outcome has shaped how I approach each project. We’re continually refining our systems and capacity so we can support larger, more ambitious work with greater precision.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that good work needs room. Whether it’s an artist’s idea, a team dynamic, or a complex install schedule, rushing toward certainty too quickly can flatten what makes something special. Clarity matters, but so does patience. I’ve learned to ask better questions, to leave space for evolving ideas, and to trust that structure can serve creativity rather than limit it.
Over time, I’ve realized that my work often comes down to building the right sandbox- creating just enough structure to hold the shape of a project while leaving room for experimentation, surprise, and momentum. The most rewarding projects I’ve been part of weren’t the ones where everything went exactly as planned. They were the ones where people felt trusted enough to take risks, get weird, and push the work further than we thought possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.barrettbarrera.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bb_projects/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nic-cherry/
- Other: nic@niccherry.com
Image Credits:
RendezVous install photograph at Frist Art Museum, Photo by JohnSchweikert; RendezVous install photograph at Columbia Art Museum, Photo by David Johnson; Statement Pieces install photograph at Gibbes Art Museum, Photo by David Johnson; Cherry home, living room view in The Grove, Photo by Willie Cherry.
