Why Symmetry?

Symmetry is about balance and order and finding a center. It’s about logic and beauty and harmony. It is even about acknowledging and employing its essential counterpoint, asymmetry.

But . . . how did I find myself here, pursuing Symmetry?

I discovered my passion for organizing exhibitions while working at Colgate University’s Longyear Museum of Anthropology in Hamilton, New York. Following a return to my home state, I secured a job as registrar at the Mississippi Museum of Art, and four years later became curator of exhibitions. I curated exhibitions of artwork by ceramicist Kathleen Varnell, costume designer Myrna Colley-Lee, writer and photographer Eudora Welty, painter William R. Hollingsworth Jr., and others. During my twelve years at MMA, I designed and implemented hundreds of exhibitions alongside the chief curator, guest curators, and other staff, and managed the museum’s publications. For the next nearly eight years I was founding partner at Kiyomi LLC, where I worked in management, editorial, and design capacities in collaboration with my partner, Heidi Barnett, and other team members. We created all scales of publications and exhibitions for clients in New York, DC, Georgia, and Mississippi, from nonprofits and museums to corporations and government entities.

In the summer of 2020, I began to pursue work exclusively with my own company, Symmetry. Symmetry shifts my focus back to the humanities—to museums, publishers, and individuals pursuing truth and sharing diverse narratives with the public. I am grateful to have the opportunity to return to this important work.

Each project comes with its own set of needs and requires specialized skillsets and manpower. My perennial colleague Daniel Cook is on board to provide support and expertise, and we will enlist other collaborators in writing, design, and fabrication as needed. We appreciate the organizations that have already entrusted us with their projects, and we are excited about the possibilities that Symmetry provides.

—Robin