Brad Eugene Cushman

■ My favorite childhood memory is: A family vacation in 1967 to San Francisco where I tasted orange marmalade for the first time. Then the drive down the coastal highway with visits to Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios and Disneyland where I enjoyed my first chocolate chip ice cream cone.

■ My first job was: Selling sweet corn for spending money at the Illinois State Fair.

■ The best thing I learned in art school was: Make a lot of work and have confidence in your design choices!

■ The artist I love most is: Too many to choose just one. A curator’s job is to tell provocative stories by showcasing artists that have a command over their chosen medium.

■ The exhibit I’m most proud to have been involved with is: With over 22 years of curating, my list is long. “Taking Possession and On Their Own Terms” featuring Black artists as well as “El Grito: The Cry for Independence” highlighting Latinx artists, “Face to Face: Artists Self Portraits from the Jackye and Curtis Finch, Jr. Collection,” and the two exhibits I curated featuring folk and outsider art.

■ My advice to art students would be: Look at a lot of different kinds of art in person and spend time weekly in your creative practice.

■ What I love most about creating art: It activates the synaptic firings in my brain and stimulates my imagination.

■ The last book I read was: Currently reading “The Shadow of the Wind,” a novel by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

■ My favorite travel destination is: New York City and Venice, Italy.

■ My travel bucket list includes: England and Scotland.

■ A talent my friends might be surprised to learn I have is: I can make DoubleTree Hotel chocolate chip cookies from scratch.

■ One word to sum me up: Curious.