Emma Rutter Blood Clarke

Emma Clarke is a first-year PhD student in the Theatre and Drama program at UC San Diego. Emma's lines of inquiry pay particular attention to archival practices, qualities of ephemera, potency of materiality, and dynamics of spectacle. In Spring 2021, Emma curated a digital archival exhibit “Choreographic Innovation at the Pillow,” for the Jacob’s Pillow Archives as part of a master’s practicum. In November 2021, during the virtual Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association conference, she presented “Junctures of Spectacle: Postmodern Dance and the Art Museum” based on her research into dance and museum settings.

 Emma was born and raised in New York City and began her professional career in arts fundraising most especially as a grant writer for performing arts organizations. Emma holds an M.A. in Performance Curation from Wesleyan University’s Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance and a B.A. in Dance from Bard College where upon graduation, she received the Ana Itelman Prize for Performance.

Research 

Education 

B.A. in Dance, Bard College

M.A. in Performance Curation, Wesleyan University