Olivia Comstock (they/them) is a writer, curator, and researcher. Olivia is currently a PhD Candidate in art history at the University of Minnesota working a dissertation titled "Allen Fannin: Hand Spinning and Weaving, Nitty-Gritty Needs, and ‘The Black Craftsman Situation.’” This dissertation provides the first book-length study of Allen Fannin (1939–2004), a studio craft practitioner known for his spinning and weaving in the 1960s–70s. Each chapter examines a different facet of Fannin’s practice: texture, how-to manuals, commercial production, and pedagogy.
Olivia served as independent curator for Edible at the Northern Clay Center in 2024, an exhibition that explored Asian American cultural identity through ceramics that incorporate food aesthetics. In 2020, they were co-curator for ¡PRESENTE! at CLUES, which featured the work of Twin Cities Latina/o/x artists in celebration of 50 years of Chicano and Latino Studies at the University of Minnesota. Olivia was also the recipient of a 2021-2022 Fulbright Research Award in Berlin, Germany where they staged participatory workshops at the Museum FLUXUS+.