The SPHERE SERIES is a collaboration of a group of arts leaders, Jen Sudul Edwards, Neely Verano, Jessica Moss, Liz Faison and Hilary Burt, supported by our partners in the Charlotte creative community. The group is dedicated to bringing innovators in the arts from all over the globe to engage in thoughtful and relevant discussions on how arts and creativity can spark life-changing dialogue and promote necessary social change.

Hilary Burt

Hilary Burt is the Managing Director of SOCO Gallery, Charlotte, NC. Formerly a Professor of Art History and Arts Leadership + Administration at Queens University, she has been published by IGI Global ("Making it Pay: Why Colleges and Universities should reclaim funding and benefits for the liberal arts by adding more practical training"), Trade Routes and the NY Canadian Consulate ("Visual Arts Market in the Tri-State Area for Canadian Art Galleries"), and was copyeditor for the American National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage ("Developing Intellectual Property Policies, A Guide for Museums"). Before moving to Charlotte, Hilary worked as an Account Director and Strategist in design and branding, both in London, England and New York City, and was a Visiting Associate Professor at the Pratt Institute. 

Jen Sudul Edwards

Jen Sudul Edwards, Ph.D. is Chief Curator and Curator of Contemporary Art at the Mint Museum. She received her doctorate from the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU, in 2014 and has held curatorial positions at the Norton Simon Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art.  Dr. Sudul Edwards has won numerous awards for her publications, exhibitions, and curatorial work, including Charlotte Magazine’s “Best Curator” for 2017 and a “Charlottean of the Year” in 2019. She is Chair of the Board at Goodyear Arts and on the AFA Advisory Committee at Central Piedmont Community College.

Neely Verano

Neely Verano is co-founder of LaCa Projects, a contemporary art gallery that opened in 2013 and where she served as managing director for six years. Prior to this, she served in Chief Development Officer roles at the Mint Museum, Johnson & Wales University, and Queens University of Charlotte. She serves as a board of trustees member for the McColl Center for Art + Innovation and RunningWorks, as an advisory board member for the Arts Empowerment Project, and as a member of the collections committee for the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. A native of Michigan, Verano has resided in Charlotte for 17 years and is a passionate advocate in the community for the arts, and social mobility and homelessness. She resides in Dilworth with her husband, Michael, and three children, Luca, Leo, and Rosy.

Liz Faison

Liz Faison worked in both the art and finance worlds, primarily in New York and London.  After graduating from the University of Virginia with High Honors in Art History, she worked at Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy. She then moved to New York City to work with Christie’s in Contemporary Art, followed by several years with Robert Miller Gallery, which championed modern and Contemporary women artists. Liz earned her MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and transitioned to the world of finance, working initially for Goldman Sachs and then Och-Ziff Capital Management in New York and London.  Today, Liz is on the Board of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art and serves on both its Collections and Development committees.