Five YEARS Ago, Culture Type began reporting on new appointments of Black curators, primarily in museums. The showtime review in 2016 was prompted past findings from the Mellon Foundation (2015) that showed American museums employed very few Black people in positions that shape them in terms of their management and intellectual direction as institutions of research, education and cultural exploration. According to Mellon, the figures for these positions—museum leaders, curators, conservators, and educators, were appalling. Only 4 percent were held by African Americans.

Mellon conducted its research in collaboration with the Association of Fine art Museum Directors and the American Alliance of Museums and published its findings in 2015 and 2018. The latter survey showed some improvements with increased representation for African Americans, rise to 11 percent in the category that includes intellectual staffing. Inside these ranks, while marked improvements were recorded in curatorial and education, increases were negligible in conservation and leadership.


New 2021 Appointments: Clockwise from tiptop left, Rhea Fifty. Combs (National Portrait Gallery); Meg Onli (Underground Museum); James Claiborne (Barnes Foundation); Jane'a Johnson (Foam); Jamillah James (MCA Chicago); Akili Tommasino (The Met); Maria Rosario Jackson (NEA); Liz Andrews (Spelman Museum); Isolde Brielmaier (New Museum); and theo tyson (MFA Boston).

Much has happened in the field since the last survey. Museums closed for nearly all of 2020 due to COVID-nineteen and nationwide calls for social justice brought to light entrenched racism in U.S. institutions, including museums and cultural organizations. Seeking a reset from racial reckonings and pandemic closures, museums spent the past year figuring out the mode forrard. New health and safety protocols, budget challenges, depressed omnipresence, adjusted exhibition schedules, and newfound interest in diversity, equity, and inclusion, were accompanied past the churn of standard operations, including new 2021 appointments. The announcements have included significant opportunities for curators.

In New York, some of the nations pinnacle museums and art spaces have recruited Blackness curators for leadership positions. Naomi Beckwith joined the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum every bit deputy director and Isolde Brielmaier was tapped as deputy manager at the New Museum. Black fine art curators were as well hired at the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Fine art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the DIA Art Foundation this yr.

The Kitchen, a storied experimental art space that presents exhibitions and performances across disciplines, recruited Legacy Russell away from the Studio Museum in Harlem to serve as executive director.

Major 2021 appointments were also made in Washington, D.C., at Smithsonian museums and the National Gallery of Art. Prominent institutions defended to Black fine art and culture have welcomed new leaders, too, including the Underground Museum and California African American Museum, both in Los Angeles, Spelman College Museum of Fine Art in Atlanta, and the Schomburg Center for Inquiry in Black Culture in Harlem.

Black leaders are besides taking the reins of influential fine art schools and bookish programs, where futurity artists, curators, and arts leaders are educated. Since July, Kymberly Pinder has served as dean of the Yale School of Art. In January, Eric Pryor becomes president of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. In April, the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, R.I., volition welcome Crystal Williams equally president. All three are historic appointments, mark the get-go time the leadership posts have been held by a Black person.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate confirmed Maria Rosario Jackson every bit chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. She is the showtime African American and Mexican American to helm the independent government bureau whose FY 2021 budget of $167.v million provided grants to individuals artists and arts organizations in communities throughout the country.

This year, Culture Blazon'due south annual list of curatorial and leadership appointments concentrates on U.Southward. museums and also includes several art centers, organizations, and schools, as well as a choice of international hires (in chronological order according to announcement dates). The 2021 listing of 69 new hires is not comprehensive, but it is representative:

Jan


Akili Tommasino, 2021 | Photo © Gregston Hurdle, Courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art

Akili Tommasino, Associate Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y.

In early on January, the appointment of Akili Tommasino as associate curator in the Mod and Contemporary Art department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was made public. A scholar of the 20th-century avant-grade, Tommasino had been serving as associate curator of mod and contemporary art at the Museum of Fine Art, Boston, since 2018. Previously, he was a curatorial assistant in the Section of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Fine art in New York (2014-18). Tommasino started at The Met in April.


Kanitra Fletcher. | Courtesy National Gallery of Art

Kanitra Fletcher, Acquaintance Curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic Art | National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

The National Gallery of Art (NGA) appear the appointment of Kanitra Fletcher to the newly created position of associate curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic art on Jan. 13. Fletcher joined NGA from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), where she started as a curatorial banana in 2017, and rose to associate curator. She officially started at NGA on Feb. one and has been working on "Afro-Atlantic Histories," the landmark exhibition that originated in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and is currently on view at MFAH, earlier traveling to NGA where it opens Apr x.


Naomi Beckwith. | Photo past Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Naomi Beckwith, Deputy Director & Principal Curator | Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, N.Y.

On Jan. fourteen, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum named Naomi Beckwith deputy director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator, a major date at a prominent international institution. She joined the Guggenheim from the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, where she held curatorial roles since 2011, most recently senior curator. With Valerie Cassel Oliver, Beckwith co-organized "Howardena Pindell: What Remains to Be Seen," the first major retrospective of the New York artist. Beckwith was also part of the curatorial team that stepped up to work on the New Museum exhibition "Grief and Grievance: Fine art and Mourning in America" afterwards the death of Okwui Enwezor. Earlier in her career, she was an acquaintance curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem. Beckwith'due south tenure at the Guggenheim began in June.


Lekgetho Makola. | Courtesy Javett-Upwardly

Lekgetho Makola, CEO | Javett Art Centre at the Academy of Pretoria in Pretoria, South Africa

Javett Art Middle at the University of Pretoria (Javett-UP) announced a new CEO on January. 25. Lekgetho Makola officially joined Javett-UP in the leadership mail on Feb. 1. Makola earned an MFA at Howard Academy in Washington, D.C., and brings a spectrum of arts administration and programming experience to the center. At the time of his engagement, Makola was serving equally head of the Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg. In previous roles, he worked at Durban Fine art Museum, Robben Isle Museum, and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Feb


Cameron Shaw. | Photo past Matt Sayles, Courtesy CAAM

Cameron Shaw, Executive Director | California African American Museum, Los Angeles, Calif.

Cameron Shaw was elevated to executive director of the California African American Museum (CAAM) later on serving as deputy manager and master curator of the museum since September 2019. The news was announced February. 22. Before joining CAAM, Shaw was the executive manager of New Orleans-based Pelican Bomb, a nonprofit contemporary fine art organization that presented exhibitions, public programs, and arts journalism.

MARCH


Christina Shutt. | Courtesy ALPLM

Christina Shutt, Executive Director | Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield, Ill.

Christina Shutt was named executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) on March 5. Shutt previously headed the Mosaic Templars Cultural Centre in Little Stone, which celebrates Arkansas's African American history and culture. Previously, she was associate librarian for Special Collections and Education at Hendrix College in Conway, Ark. She has also worked at the Heart for the History of Medicine at Harvard University. Shutt'southward ALPLM appointment was effective on June 8. She is the showtime African American to atomic number 82 the library.


Lauren Haynes. | Photo by Rana Young

Lauren Haynes, Senior Curator | Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University, Durham, N.C.

The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University announced the appointment of Lauren Haynes on March 11. She joined the museum as Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Senior Curator of Gimmicky Fine art. Since 2016, Haynes has been at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark., where she coordinated the showtime U.S. presentation of the international traveling exhibition "Soul of a Nation: Art in the Historic period of Black Power" (2018). Most recently, she served equally director of artist initiatives and curator of contemporary art at Crystal Bridges and The Momentary. Previously, she spent a decade at the Studio Museum in Harlem. She began at the Nasher Museum on June 7.


Deana Haggag. | Photo by Braxton Black

Deana Haggag, Plan Officeholder – Arts & Civilisation | Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, New York, Due north.Y.

Later serving as president and CEO of United States Artists (U.s.a.) for four years, Deana Haggag accepted an date at the Andrew Westward. Mellon Foundation as a plan officer in Arts and Culture. The news was announced March 12. Recognizing both the valuable contributions artists brand to guild and their economic challenges, United states fellowships provide directly support to artists and cultural practitioners through annual greenbacks awards. Haggag started at the Mellon Foundation on May 17, focusing on grantmaking and projects with a diverse group of artists and organizations "working outside traditional boundaries and institutional walls."


Veronica Stein. | Courtesy Fine art Institute of Chicago

Veronica Stein, Executive Managing director of Learning and Public Appointment | Fine art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Ill.

On March 19, the Art Institute of Chicago appointed Veronica Stein to the position of Woman's Board Executive Director, Learning and Public Appointment. The role calls for her to "explore what museum teaching can be, guiding a holistic vision for learning and inventiveness that fulfills the needs of diverse constituents of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities." Stein previously served as program director at Chicago's Snow City Arts Foundation, an organization that harnesses the arts to help educate and inspire children and youth in hospitals. She started at the Art Institute on April xix.


Eric L. Motley. | Photo © Tony Powell

Eric L. Motley, Deputy Director | National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

On March 22, the National Gallery of Art (NGA) announced the engagement of Eric Fifty. Motley as deputy directory with responsibilities including "developing and deploying a national strategy for the museum through borough, cultural, and philanthropic partnerships, and advancing the National Gallery'due south renewed mission in tandem with its operational and revenue-generation plans." Motley joined the National Gallery from the Aspen Institute, where he had served since 2007, nigh recently as an executive vice president and the corporate secretary. He officially started at NGA on Aug. xxx.


Tonya Chiliad. Matthews. | Courtesy IAAM

Tonya M. Matthews, CEO | International African American Museum, Charleston, Due south.C.

The forthcoming International African American Museum (IAAM) named Tonya M. Matthews CEO on March 24. A biomedical engineer, she founded The STEMinista Project, a national initiative focused on exposing heart-schoolhouse girls to Stalk tools and careers. She also served as acquaintance provost of Inclusive Workforce Development and director of the STEM Innovation Learning Center at Wayne State Academy in Detroit. Previously, Matthews was vice president of museums for the Cincinnati Museum Eye and acting director of inclusion for the American Alliance of Museums. IAAM is currently nether construction and expected to open 2022.


Damon Reaves. | Photograph past Elizabeth Leitzell, Courtesy National Gallery of Fine art

Damon Reaves, Head of Education | National Gallery of Fine art, Washington, D.C.

On March 29, the National Gallery of Art announced the appointment of Damon Reaves every bit head of didactics. An experienced educator in museum and classroom settings, Reaves brings more than than a dozen years of experience to the position. He joined NGA from the Philadelphia Museum of Art where he had been on staff since 2011, most recently serving every bit interim senior curator of education and public programs. Reaves officially started at NGA on June 7.

APRIL


Raymond Codrington. | Courtesy Weeksville Heritage Centre

Raymond Codrington, CEO | Weeksville Heritage Middle, Brooklyn, Northward.Y.

Raymond Codrington joined Weeksville Heritage Center every bit CEO. Weeksville is a cultural center and historic site of ane of the oldest gratuitous Black communities in pre-civil state of war America. Codrington's appointment was announced on Apr 6. A cultural anthropologist, he had served every bit executive managing director of Hullo-ARTS in Eastward Harlem since 2015. He starts at Weeksville on April xix.


Rhea L. Combs | Photo by Abe Mohammadione / Ideas United

Rhea Fifty. Combs, Director of Curatorial Diplomacy | National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Rhea L. Combs joined the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery (NPG) every bit director of curatorial affairs. The news was announced April vi. Previously, she was working at some other Smithsonian museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, where she was curator of pic and photography and head of the museum's Earl Westward. and Amanda Stafford Center for African American Media Arts. Combs began her new part at NPG on May 10.


Eunice Bélidor. | Photo © Charlène Daguin

Eunice Bélidor, Curator of Quebec and Canadian Contemporary Art | Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Quebec, Canada

On April 7, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts announced the appointment of Eunice Bélidor as its Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Curator of Quebec and Canadian Gimmicky Art (1945 to Today). She is the starting time Black person hired full-fourth dimension in the museum's history, which dates to 1860. Bélidor established her career as an contained curator, critic, and researcher. Since 2019, she had served as director of FOFA Gallery at Concordia University in Montreal. Bélidor officially started at MMFA on April 12.


Danielle A. Jackson. | Photo by Elliott Jerome Chocolate-brown Jr.

Danielle A. Jackson, Curator | Artists Space, New York, N.Y.

Artists Space appointed Danielle A. Jackson every bit curator. Artists Space focuses on emerging ideas and emerging artists with an "considerateness to the social and intellectual concerns which actively inform artistic practice." She joined the Tribeca nonprofit on April 7. Jackson had been serving as a curatorial banana in the department of media and functioning at the Museum of Modern Art since 2018.


Adrienne Edwards. | Photo past Bryan Derballa

Adrienne Edwards, Director of Curatorial Affairs | Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, N.Y.

The Whitney Museum of American Art promoted Adrienne Edwards to Engell Speyer Curator and Managing director of Curatorial Affairs, constructive July 1. The news was announced on April viii. Edwards had been serving as curator of performance at the museum since 2018. While she joined the leadership ranks of the museum, Edwards continues to direct the Whitney's performance programme. She is besides co-curating the 2022 Whitney Biennial. Prior to the Whitney, Edwards served every bit curator at Performa in New York, for nearly a decade (2010-xviii).


Daisy Desrosiers. | Photo by Gabe Souza

Daisy Desrosiers, Manager and Chief Curator | Gund Gallery, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio

On April 12, Gund Gallery at Kenyon College named Daisy Desrosiers director and principal curator. An interdisciplinary art historian and curator, Desrosiers had been serving every bit director of artist programs at the Lunder Institute for American Art at the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine, since 2018. She officially started at Gund Gallery on June i.


Brenda D. Tindal. | Courtesy Harvard Museums of Science and Civilization

Brenda D. Tindal, Executive Director | Harvard Museums of Science and Civilization, Cambridge, Mass.

Brenda D. Tindal joined Harvard University as executive manager of the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture (HMSC). The news was appear on April 14. She officially started on May 17. Tindal is leading 6 research museums nether the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, including the Harvard Museum of the Aboriginal Near East, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, Academy Herbaria, the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, and the Mineralogical and Geological Museum. Previously, she served as founding director of education and engagement at the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C.

MAY


Rashid Shabazz. | Photo by Rog and Bee Walker of Paper Mon

Rashid Shabazz, Executive Managing director | Disquisitional Minded, New York, N.Y.

Critical Minded announced Rashid Shabazz every bit inaugural executive director on May five. Under the umbrella of Allied Media Projects, Critical Minded is a grantmaking and advancement initiative founded in 2017 by the Ford Foundation and Nathan Cummings Foundation to provide support for U.S. cultural critics of color. Shabazz brings a wealth of experience at the intersection of media, art, and social justice to the position. He previously served as chief marketing and storytelling officeholder for Color of Change. Shabazz officially joined Critical Minded on June 23.


Phylicia Rashad. | Courtesy Howard University

Phylicia Rashad, Dean, Higher of Fine Arts | Howard University, Washington, D.C.

On May 12, Howard University announced Phylicia Rashad would serve equally dean of the newly established College of Fine Arts (which was later named for belatedly Howard graduate Chadwick Boseman). An alum of Howard, Rashad is a Tony Honour-winning actress who has appeared on stage, film, and television. She has also directed for theater and served as an adjunct faculty member and invitee lecturer at several institutions, including Howard, New York University, Vassar College, Carnegie Mellon University, Wayne Country Academy, Juilliard, and The Blackness Arts Institute of the Stella Adler Studio of Interim. In 2011, Rashad was besides the kickoff Denzel Washington Chair in Theater at Fordham University. Her Howard appointment was effective July 1.


E. Carmen Ramos. | National Gallery of Art. Photo © 2021 Lath of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington

Eastward. Carmen Ramos, Chief Curatorial and Conservation Officer | National Gallery of Fine art, Washington, D.C.

On May 13, E. Carmen Ramos was named chief curatorial and conservation officeholder at the National Gallery of Art (NGA). She is the first adult female and beginning person of color to serve in the role. Ramos joined the National Gallery afterwards eleven years at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), where she was the acting chief curator and curator of Latinx fine art. Previously, she served equally deputy chief curator. She was commencement hired SAAM in 2010. At NGA, Ramos officially started in August.


Nichole Northward. Bridges. | Courtesy Saint Louis Art Museum

Nichole Northward. Bridges, Curator of the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas | Saint Louis Fine art Museum, St. Louis, Mo.

The Saint Louis Fine art Museum (SLAM) promoted Nichole N. Bridges to Morton D. May Curator of the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas. The news was appear May 17, coinciding with renovation of a suite of galleries where the museum's drove of Oceanic fine art is on view. Bridges organized the refreshed presentation in collaboration with subject expert Philippe Peltier. Bridges joined SLAM in 2013 as associate curator in the department. Previously, she was acquaintance curator at the Newark Museum and caput of the Department of the Arts of Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific Islands at the Baltimore Museum of Art.


Rujeko Hockley. | Photo by Scott Rudd

Rujeko Hockley, Associate Curator | Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, N.Y.

At the Whitney Museum of American Art Rujeko Hockley was promoted from assistant curator of contemporary art to Arnhold Associate Curator, a newly endowed position, effective July 1. Hockley co-curated Julie Mehretu's mid-career traveling survey, which opened at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, was recently presented at the Whitney, and is now on view at Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minn. She also co-curated the 2019 Whitney Biennial. Hockley joined the Whitney in 2017. Previously, she was assistant curator of contemporary fine art at the Brooklyn Museum. The promotion was announced May 20.


Allison Glenn. | Photo by Rana Young

Allison Glenn, Senior Curator & Director of Public Art | Contemporary Arts Museum Houston in Houston, Texas

On May 25, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH) announced Allison Glenn was joining the museum as senior curator and director of public fine art. She had been serving as associate curator, contemporary art at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark. Glenn guest-curated "Promise, Witness, Remembrance," a highly regarded exhibition memorializing Breonna Taylor at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Ky. (Apr seven-June 13, 2021). She officially started at CAMH on Aug. 1.

JUNE


Kymberly Pinder. | Photo past Eve Caughey, Courtesy Yale

Kymberly Pinder, Dean, Yale Schoolhouse of Art | Yale University, New Haven, Conn.

On June i, Kymberly Pinder was named Stavros Niarchos Foundation Dean of the Yale School of Art, one of the nation's acme art schools. Pinder is the offset Black person to lead the establishment since it was founded in 1869. She is an internationally recognized scholar of race, representation, and religion in American art and the history of murals with nearly three decades of experience in higher education. A professor, curator, and academic leader, Pinder joined Yale from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) in Boston, where she was interim president. She joined MassArt equally provost and senior vice president of academic affairs in 2019. In previous roles, Pinder was dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of New United mexican states (2012-18), responsible for the state's largest fine arts program, and chair of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago'southward Department of Art History, Theory and Criticism (2007-ten). Pinder is an alum of Yale, where she earned multiple fine art history degrees, including her Ph.D. Her term as dean began on July ane.


Karen Comer Lowe. | Photograph by Joeff Davis, Courtesy Hammonds House Museum

Karen Comer Lowe, Executive Director & Chief Curator | Hammonds House Museum, Atlanta, Ga.

Karen Comer Lowe was appointed executive manager and offset principal curator at Hammonds House Museum in Atlanta, effective June 1. Afterward, her appointment was announced on June 11.Comer Lowe has a spectrum of feel in the Atlanta arts scene, most recently she served as manager and curator at Chastain Arts Middle. Her new role marks a return to Hammonds House, where she began her career as plan coordinator 25 years ago. Hammonds House Museum was established with a drove of 250 works past Black artists assembled by Otis Thrash Hammonds, an Atlanta anesthesiologist who purchased a large Victorian home to business firm his holdings.


Gabi Ngcobo. | Via Javett-Upward

Gabi Ngcobo, Curatorial Director | Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria in Pretoria, S Africa

On June 4, Javett Fine art Centre at the University of Pretoria (Javett-Upwardly) announced the official engagement of Gabi Ngcobo every bit curatorial director. She had been serving in the position in an acting capacity since October 2020. Ngcobo curated the tenth Berlin Biennale (2018) and co-curated the 32nd São Paulo Art Biennial (2016). She has been a lecturer at the Wits School of Arts in Johannesburg (2011-20) and co-founded the collaborative platforms Middle for Historical Reenactments, and NGO – Nothing Gets Organised. At Javett-UP, Ngcobo curated the exhibition "All in a Day'south Center: Politics of Innocence in the Javett Fine art Collection" (2019-2021).


Joy Bivins. | Photo past Jonathan Blanc, New York Public Library

Joy Bivins, Managing director | Schomburg Heart for Inquiry in Black Culture, New York, N.Y.

On June four, the New York Public Library announced the appointment of Joy Bivins every bit director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the renowned cultural institution, library, and inquiry centre in Harlem. Bivins was elevated to the position. Since June 2020, she had been associate director of Collections and Research Services at the Schomburg. Previously, she served as the primary curator at the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C. Bivins officially began her new role on June 21, succeeding Kevin Young. She is the first woman to lead the Schomburg since the tenure of Jean Blackwell Hutson, who served from 1948 to 1980.


Legacy Russell. | Photo by Andreas Laszlo Konrath

Legacy Russell, Executive Director | The Kitchen, New York, N.Y.

Since 2018, Legacy Russell had served every bit associate curator of exhibitions at the Studio Museum in Harlem. In September, she joined The Kitchen as executive director and chief curator. Her appointment was announced June 8. Founded in 1971, The Kitchen is one of New York's oldest nonprofit art spaces. Its programming focuses on innovative, research-based, and experimental projects with emerging and established artists working across disciplines (visual art, video, film, operation, trip the light fantastic toe, music, theater, and literature). Russell is the author of "Glitch Feminism: A Manifesto."


Horace D. Ballard. | Photograph by Jeneene Chatowsky

Horace D. Ballard, Acquaintance Curator of American Fine art | Harvard Fine art Museums, Cambridge, Mass.

Harvard Art Museums announced the appointment of Horace D. Ballard every bit Theodore E. Stebbins Jr. Associate Curator of American Fine art on June 10. A curator, professor, and theologian, Ballard joined Harvard Art Museums Segmentation of European and American Art, where he is overseeing the collection of pre-20th-century American paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts. He arrived from the Williams Higher Museum of Art, where he was hired equally assistant curator (2017-nineteen) and rose to curator of American fine art. Ballard officially joined Harvard Art Museums on Sept. 1.

"I believe in the capacious potential of academic museums to refine the ethics of our attending. The Harvard Art Museums have long been a laboratory for innovative, multidisciplinary approaches to the material and visual cultures of human civilization. I spent time in the collections as a graduate student, and I experienced firsthand the power of fine art to incite empathy, wonder, and sociopolitical change. The field of American art is in a period of reckoning and reflection; I am thrilled to be joining the Harvard Art Museums at such an exciting moment." — Horace D. Ballard


Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung. | Photograph by Alexander Steffens, Courtesy, HKW

Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Managing director | Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany

On June 16, Haus der Kulturen der Welt announced curator, author, and professor Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung would be its next director. The national middle for contemporary art is funded by the High german regime. Ndikung is a professor for the MA program Spatial Strategies at the Weißensee School of Art in Berlin. He served as creative director of the 13th Rencontres de Bamako 2021, the biennial of African photography in Mali. Ndikung was too curator of Dak'Art 2018, the African Contemporary Art Biennale in Dakar, Senegal. At Haus der Kulturen der Welt, he succeeds Bernd Chiliad. Scherer, a year from now, on Jan. one, 2023.


Julia Grosse. | Photo past Benjamin Renter

Julia Grosse, Associate Curator | Gropius Bau, Berlin, Frg

Gropius Bau appear the appointment of Julia Grosse as associate curator on June 24. An art historian and critic, Grosse is co-founder of the Berlin-based ContemporaryAnd, "a dynamic platform for reflecting and connecting ideas and discourses on contemporary visual arts" with an international focus on Black and Latin American art, artists and curators. Describing itself as "one of the most important exhibition venues in Europe," Gropius Bau is currently presenting "Zanele Muholi" and "Emeka Ogboh. Ámà: The Gathering Place," among other shows.

JULY


Ngaire Blankenberg. | Courtesy Smithsonian

Ngaire Blankenberg, Director | National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C.

The Smithsonian'southward National Museum of African Art (NMAfA) announced the date of Ngaire Blankenberg as director on July 1. She officially started July six. A consultant for museums and heritage sites around the earth, Blankenberg has advised clients on some of the near challenging matters cultural institutions are currently navigating—how to accost diversity issues, approach decolonization strategies, observe innovative means to connect cultural resources to new audiences, and get more engaged in the community and society around them. She began her three-decade career in goggle box and documentary production earlier focusing on museums.

"Museums are institutions that carry a lot of systemic baggage from their colonial origins, but they are vital public spaces to reconsider how we connect and contend with one another and the planet, and where we can redefine, heal and reconcile." — Ngaire Blankenberg


Salome Asega. | Photo past Jeremy Grier

Salome Asega, Managing director, NEW INC. | New Museum, New York, North.Y.

Salome Asega was appointed director of NEW INC, the cultural incubator of the New Museum on July 1. For the past four years, Asega had been serving as the countdown New Media Art Research Swain for Creativity and Free Expression at the Ford Foundation. She rejoined the New Museum afterwards previously working on a project in the museum's education department (2014), serving every bit a member of the NEW INC community from 2016-17, and equally an IdeasCity Boyfriend in 2017. Asega started in her new office on July 26.


Liz Andrews. | Courtesy Spelman Higher

Liz Andrews, Executive Director | Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta, Ga.

The Spelman College Museum of Art announced the appointment of Liz Andrews as executive manager on July vii. An artist, curator, and museum professional, Andrews was serving equally executive administrator of the manager'south office at the Los Angeles County Museum of Fine art (LACMA) when she was selected, succeeding Andrea Barnwell Brownlee. Andrews worked at LACMA for most five years in an expansive part that included variety and inclusion work, as well as curatorial duties. She is co-curator with Christine Y. Kim, of the electric current LACMA exhibitions "Obama Portraits Tour" and "Black American Portraits." Andrews officially joined Spelman on Aug. two.


Elvira Dyangani Ose. | Photo by Josep Lago Dalmases

Elvira Dyangani Ose, Manager | Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

On July 22, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona (MACBA) announced Elvira Dyangani Ose volition be its next manager, serving nether a five-year contract. Dyangani Ose was director and chief curator of the Showroom in London and a lecturer on visual cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London, at the time. She brings extensive international experience to MACBA, including curatorial roles at the Tate Modernistic in London, Creative Time in New York, and the Rencontres Picha – Lubumbashi Biennial in the Congo-kinshasa. Dyangani Ose started at MACBA in September. She is the kickoff adult female and first Black person to lead the museum.


Oluremi C. Onabanjo. | Photo by Naima Green

Oluremi C. Onabanjo, Acquaintance Curator of Photography | Museum of Modern Art, New York, N.Y.

A curator and scholar of photography and the arts of Africa, Oluremi C. Onabanjo was named acquaintance curator of photography at the Museum of Mod Fine art (MoMA) in New York. The appointment was made public on July 8. Onabanjo has worked internationally, organizing exhibitions across Africa, Europe, and North America. She previously served as manager of exhibitions and collections for The Walther Collection, one of the foremost private photography collections in the world. In 2017, Onabanjo co-curated "Contempo Histories: Contemporary African Photography and Video Art" and edited the accompanying exhibition catalog. She started in her new role at MoMA on Oct. 18.


Isolde Brielmaier. | Photo past Quil Lemons

Isolde Brielmaier, Deputy Manager | New Museum, New York, N.Y.

On July 22, the New Museum appointed Isolde Brielmaier deputy director. Brielmaier oversees external affairs and marketing and communications, including media partnerships, publications, and visitor experience, as well as NEW INC., the museum'due south cultural incubator dedicated to art, design, and technology. She also plays a fundamental role in the museum's policy and strategy decisions. Her appointment was effective Sept. ane. Brielmaier continues to serve as assistant professor of critical studies at NYU'due south Tisch School in the Section of Photography, Imaging, and Emerging Media. She is too curator-at-large at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York, where she curated "Tyler Mitchell: I Tin Make You lot Feel Good."


Christopher Blay. | Courtesy Houston Museum of African American Culture

Christopher Blay, Main Curator | Houston Museum of African American Culture, Houston, Texas

Christopher Blay joined the Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) equally chief curator. The news was announced July 22. A writer and curator, Blay had been serving as an fine art critic and news editor at Glasstire, an online magazine that covers visual arts in Texas. Previously, he spent a decade as curator at Art Corridor Galleries at Tarrant County Higher in Fort Worth, Texas. Blay officially started at HMAAC on Sept. i.


Grace Deveney. | Photo courtesy the Fine art Found of Chicago

Grace Deveney, Associate Curator of Photography and Media | Art Found of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.

Grace Deveney started at the Art Institute of Chicago as the David C. and Sarajean Ruttenberg Associate Curator of Photography and Media on July 14. Her appointment was made public on July 23. Deveney was associate curator of Prospect.five, the contemporary fine art triennial in New Orleans at the time and has been serving in both roles meantime (through Jan. 23, 2022). Previously, Deveney held curatorial positions at MCA Chicago, from 2014-19. Afterwards starting every bit a Marjorie Susman Curatorial Fellow, she was hired as a curatorial banana and rose to assistant curator. During her tenure at MCA Chicago, Deveney organized a major survey of Christina Quarles.


Jane'a Johnson. | Photo by Lindsay Calmettes and Mandy Draper

Jane'a Johnson, Artistic Director | Foam, Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, The netherlands

On July 23, Foam, which describes itself as an international and multifaceted photography museum, named Jane'a Johnson artistic director. Johnson joined Foam from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where she was an assistant professor of Theory of Art + Design, taught courses in visual civilization, and was a research young man at the Middle for Social Disinterestedness and Inclusion (SEI). Previously, she worked at Dark-brown University's John Hay Library, Providence Athenaeum Library, the Crocker Fine art Museum in Sacramento, the California Country Library, and Sacramento Public Library. As an undergraduate at Spelman College, Johnson was an exchange educatee at the University of Amsterdam. More than a decade later, she returned to the city, where she officially started at Foam on Oct. 1.

August


Adrienne Elise Tarver. | Photograph by Eley Photograph

Adrienne Elise Tarver, Director of Programs | National Academy of Design, New York, N.Y.

The National University of Blueprint appointed Adrienne Elise Tarver director of programs. The news was announced Aug. v. An interdisciplinary artist, educator, and administrator, Tarver has exhibited and taught internationally. Previously, she served equally associate chair of fine arts at Savannah College of Art & Design, Atlanta (2019-21) and director of art & design for the Harlem School of the Arts (2017-nineteen). Established in 1825, the National Academy "promotes art and compages in America through exhibitions, teaching, and research," working with its community of National Academicians, artists and designers who are leaders in their fields.


Vivian Crockett. | Photograph by Ciara Elle Bryant

Vivian Crockett, Curator | New Museum, New York, N.Y.

On Aug. 24, the New Museum announced the date of Vivian Crockett as curator. A Brazilian American scholar and curator, Crockett specializes in Latinx art and art of the African diaspora. Recently, she contributed to the "Afro-Atlantic Histories" exhibition catalog. Crockett is joining the New Museum from the Dallas Museum of Art where she has served every bit the Nancy and Tim Hanley Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art since March 2020. She starts at the New Museum on Jan. i, 2022.


Tyler Shine. | Photograph past Abby Warhola

Tyler Smoothen, Assistant Curator of Art | Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Pa.

On Aug. 31, The Andy Warhol Museum appear the engagement of Tyler Smooth as assistant curator of art. He joined the museum Aug. 30. Shine was a graduate lecturer at the Found of Gimmicky Art at the University of Pennsylvania, and a graduate teaching swain at Penn, where he is a Ph.D. candidate in the history of art. Previously, Shine was the inaugural Constance E. Clayton Fellow at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (2016-18) and a museum banana at The Phillips Drove in Washington, D.C. (2013-15).

SEPTEMBER


Ashley Jordan. | Via Association of African American Museums

Ashley Jordan, President & CEO | African American Museum in Philadelphia, in Philadelphia, Pa.

The African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) welcomed a new president and CEO. The appointment of Ashley Jordan was announced Sept. 8. Previously, she served as senior director of development at the National Surreptitious Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Hashemite kingdom of jordan has also served as executive managing director of the Evansville African American Museum in Indiana and held a curatorial position at the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Middle in Wilberforce, Ohio. Jordan officially joined AAMP in September.


theo tyson. | Photo by Frances Neyra Claudio

theo tyson, Curator of Fashion Arts | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in Boston, Mass.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) hired theo tyson as Penny Vinik Curator of Fashion Arts, responsible for edifice the museum's drove of 20th- and 21st-century way, organizing exhibitions and programming, and leading the Fashion Council, a group dedicated to supporting the museum's fashion arts program. The news was announced Sept. 9. Tyson's background includes 20 years in the fashion manufacture earlier transitioning to her curatorial exercise. She previously served every bit the Polly Thayer Starr Swain in American Fine art and Culture at the Boston Athenæum. In Atlanta, she held positions at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art and SCAD FASH Museum of Style + Film. tyson started at MFA Boston on Nov. 1.


Tavia Nyong'o. | Photo past Camillo Godoy

Tavia Nyong'o, Curator of Public Programming | Park Avenue Arsenal, New York, N.Y.

On Sept. thirteen, the Park Avenue Armory appear the appointment of Tavia Nyong'o as curator of public programming. Nyong'o is chair of Theater and Performance Studies and William Lampson Professor of Theater and Performance Studies, American Studies and African American Studies at Yale University, responsibilities he has continued in tandem with his new part. At the Armory, Nyong'o leads public programming, organizing "talks, salons, symposia, performances, and other activations that bring artists, activists, cultural leaders, scholars, and audiences into dialogue most contemporary issues through an artistic lens." In 2022, he is launching Making Space, a new program series "that addresses the mistake lines in our racial and social order."


Maurita Due north. Poole. | Courtesy of Maurita N. Poole

Maurita N. Poole, Managing director | Newcomb Art Museum at Tulane University, New Orleans, La.

Maurita N. Poole is the new manager of Newcomb Art Museum. The appointment was announced Sept. fourteen. Poole joined Newcomb from Clark Atlanta Academy Art Museum (CAUAM), where she served for six years. As director and curator at CAUAM, Poole focused on shoring up the institutions'south infrastructure and opportunities for Southern artists and the side by side generation of museum professionals through residencies (Black Optics Creative person Residency) and fellowships (Tina Dunkley Fellowship in American Fine art). In New Orleans, Newcomb is amongst the host institutions participating in "Prospect.5: Yesterday nosotros said tomorrow," the citywide contemporary fine art triennial.


Jordan Carter. | Photo by Lori Sapio

Jordan Carter, Curator | Dia Fine art Foundation, New York, Due north.Y.

The Dia Art Foundation appear the appointment of Jordan Carter as curator on Sept. 21. Carter joined Dia from the Fine art Institute of Chicago where he served nearly recently as associate curator of modern and contemporary art. Forthcoming at the Art Constitute of Chicago, Carter is organizing exhibitions of stanley brouwn and Shahryar Nashat and co-curating "Ray Johnson c/o," the offset major institutional presentation of the artist in more than ii decades. Carter's curatorial exercise focuses on Fluxus, the advanced art movement that emerged in the early on 1950s, and global Conceptual art of the 1960s and 70s. He brings "broad expertise in the period of art history that sits at the core of Dia'south collection," according to Dia Director Jessica Morgan. He officially started at Dia this month.

"I look forwards to contributing to Dia's mission of championing and expanding the histories and legacies of Minimal and Conceptual art of the 1960s and 70s, and engaging living artists in sustained and meaningful ways that extend these stakes and dialogues into the 21st century."
— Hashemite kingdom of jordan Carter

OCTOBER


Rob Fields. | Photo by Abbie Fields

Rob Fields, Director | Sugar Colina Children's Museum of Fine art & Storytelling, New York, N.Y.

On Oct. 4, the Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art & Storytelling in Harlem appear the appointment Rob Fields as the new managing director of the institution. Fields previously served equally president and executive director of Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn. He started at the children's museum on Sept. 27.

"Not only practice we have the opportunity to brand the Sugar Hill community fifty-fifty more than vibrant, but nosotros can show how—through inventiveness and collaboration—the arts build meliorate citizens. And we're going to start with our youngest citizens and their families." — Rob Fields


Danny Dunson. | Photo past Charles Coussey

Danny Dunson, Managing director of Curatorial Affairs | DuSable Museum of African American History, Chicago, Sick.

Danny Dunson assumed the function of director of curatorial affairs at the DuSable Museum of African American History on Oct. iv. An art historian, advisor to artists and collectors, curator, and author, Dunson is the founder of Legacy Brothers, a consultancy that provides creative person development services and recently established a residency plan offer grants and guidance to upstart artists. Terminal December, Dunson curated "Commonage Reflections: Contemporary African and Diasporic Expressions of a New Vanguard," a group exhibition at Gallery 1957 in Accra, Republic of ghana.


Maria Rosario Jackson. | Photo by David G. Riddick

Maria Rosario Jackson, Chair | National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, D.C.

On Oct. 5, President Biden nominated Maria Rosario Jackson to chair the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). A professor in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (HIDA) at Arizona Country University, Jackson is a longstanding arts and humanities administrator whose experience includes state and federal appointments and a record of integrated arts and culture with community development. She previously worked at the Urban Institute and President Obama appointed her to the National Council on the Arts in 2013. Earlier this month, the U.Southward. Senate confirmed Jackson'south nomination on Dec xviii, making her the start African American and Mexican American to head the NEA.

"The piece of work of the NEA and the need for arts and creativity are more than important now than ever. In addition to serving equally an economic engine, arts and creativity are core to what it takes to heal our nation, our communities, and ourselves. …The NEA plays a crucial part in helping to provide funds and other resources needed for the sector to recover, retool, and reopen. The agency also has the opportunity and responsibility to deepen and aggrandize its already purposeful efforts to reach communities who have been traditionally underserved." — Maria Rosario Jackson


Meg Onli. | Photo by Marcus Maddox

Meg Onli, Director & Curator | The Underground Museum, Los Angeles, Calif.

The Underground Museum (UM) announced the appointment of Meg Onli as managing director and curator. Onli joined the Black-founded museum from the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at the Academy of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where she served equally acquaintance curator. She is co-curator with Erin Christovale of "Ulysses Jenkins: Without Your Interpretation," the first major retrospective of the pioneering video/performance creative person. Onli is co-leading The Cloak-and-dagger Museum with Cristina Pacheco, who serves as director and primary operations officer. The news was announced Oct. xi. Onli officially joined the UM on Dec. ane.


James Claiborne, 2021. | © Barnes Foundation

James Claiborne, Curator of Public Programs | Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, Pa.

On Oct. 12, the Barnes Foundation announced James Claiborne had joined the museum as curator of public programs. Previously, Claiborne served at the African American Museum in Philadelphia from 2015-2021, most recently as director of programming. He officially started at the Barnes in September.


Beverly Morgan-Welch. | © 2021 The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Photo by Peter Ross.

Beverly Morgan-Welch, Senior Deputy Director | Musueum of Modernistic Art, New York, N.Y.

The Museum of Mod Art (MoMA) appear the appointment of Beverly Morgan-Welch every bit senior deputy director of external affairs on October. 12. Her portfolio includes oversight of MoMA's outreach strategy, fundraising and sponsorship, membership, chapter programs, special events, marketing, communications, and graphic design. Morgan-Welch joins MoMA from the Smithsonian'due south National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) where she served as associate director for external affairs, from 2016 to 2021. Prior to the Smithsonian, she was executive director of the Museum of African American History in Boston and Nantucket; executive director of the Greater Hartford Arts Quango (Conn.); and manager of development at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford.


Marcus Desando. | Photo © Thando Mpushe

Marcus Tebogo Desando, Director | Prince Claus Fund in Amsterdam, The Netherlands

On Oct. 19, the Prince Claus Fund announced Marcus Tebogo Desando will serve as its new director, beginning in 2022. Desando has been serving every bit CEO of The Arts and Culture Trust in Johannesburg, South Africa, since 2017. The Prince Claus Fund was established "to support and connect artists and cultural practitioners in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean area and Eastern Europe, especially where they are under force per unit area." In 2021, the fund adopted a new strategy, focusing on supporting private creatives at various stages of their professional evolution.


Alisa Swindell. | Photograph by Sean Su

Alisa Swindell, Associate Curator of Photography | Hood Museum of Fine art at Dartmouth Higher, Hanover, N.H.

Alisa Swindell was named associate curator of photography at the Hood Museum of Art on Oct. 21. Swindell specializes in the history of photography with a focus on race and sexuality. She previously served as curatorial research associate at the Cake Museum of Art at Northwestern Academy. She has also been an independent curator, Bearden Fellow at the Saint Louis Art Museum, and Dangler Intern and curatorial researcher in the Art Institute of Chicago'south Department of Photography.


Anita Bateman. | Photo by Isaac James

Anita Bateman, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art | Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in Houston, Texas

Anita Bateman joined the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), as associate curator of modern and gimmicky art in Oct. Her engagement was announced on Oct. 26. Bateman previously served as a Mellon curatorial boyfriend in the Prints, Drawings, and Photographs Department at RISD Museum in Providence, R.I. (2017-19). She has also held internship positions at Williams College Museum of Art and the Nasher Museum of Art at Knuckles University. At MFA Houston, Bateman focuses on "exhibitions, acquisitions, and the display of the permanent collection, with a special focus on work by African American artists and on defining and expanding long-term collection goals."

NOVEMBER


Isabelle Lutterodt. | Photo past HRDWRKER, Courtesy CAAM

Isabelle Lutterodt, Deputy Managing director | California African American Museum, Los Angeles, Calif.

The California African American Museum (CAAM) welcomed a new deputy managing director. Isabelle Lutterodt was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom on November. 1. A curator, arts administrator, and community leader, since 2015, Lutterodt had served as director of Barnsdall Art Park, which includes the Los Angeles Municipal Fine art Gallery (LAMAG). Established in 1954, LAMAG is "the longest running institution in Los Angeles devoted solely to exhibiting art." Her previous roles include manager of visual arts at Angels Gate Cultural Center in San Pedro, and exhibition manager at Academy Fine art Gallery, UC San Diego. Lutterodt officially joined CAAM on Dec. ii.

"CAAM has played a significant role in shaping my understanding of the importance of engaging communities in dialogue through exhibitions and public programs. I await forward to building on the Museum'south dynamic curatorial vision, expanding its educational programs, increasing access to the collections, and uplifting the achievements of African Americans throughout California's history." — Isabelle Lutterodt


Alexis Assam. | Photo past Sandra Sellars, © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Alexis Assam, Assistant Curator of Global Gimmicky Fine art | Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Va.

On Nov. four, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) appear the appointment of Alexis Assam to the position of Regenia A. Perry Assistant Curator of Global Contemporary Art. Assam joins VMFA from the Philadelphia Museum of Fine art, where she was the Constance E. Clayton Curatorial Swain in the Contemporary Fine art department, working on several exhibitions and installations including "Senga Nengudi: Topologies." Previously, she was a Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellow at the Saint Louis Art Museum, where she co-curated "The Shape of Brainchild: Selections from the Ollie Collection."


Jesse R. Erickson, 2021. | © The Morgan Library & Museum, Photo by Janny Chiu

Jesse R. Erickson, Curator and Department Caput, Printed Books and Bindings | Morgan Library & Museum, New York, North.Y.

The Morgan Library & Museum appointed Jesse R. Erickson to the position of Astor Curator and Section Head, Printed Books and Bindings. The news was appear Nov. 10. At the Academy of Delaware, Erickson served previously as coordinator of Special Collections and Digital Humanities, banana professor in the Section of English, and acquaintance director of the Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center. His research specialties include ethnobibliography, African American print culture, and the transnational publishing history of the Victorian period writer Ouida. He officially joins the Morgan Library in January.

"Joining the Morgan Library & Museum represents one of the greatest honors of my life. I have long believed in the Morgan'southward mission to develop, research, and interpret globe-grade collections for the advancement of learning and the enjoyment of the widest public. With such a rich variety of exhibitions and programs, in this position I see the opportunity to join a global chat about the importance of fine art, history, and civilization, to expand the cultural narrative, and to enrich the direction of our field. Such ideas hold great significance for me." — Jesse R. Erickson


Eric Woods. | Courtesy MFA Boston

Eric Woods, Chief Operating Officer | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in Boston, Mass.

On Nov. xv, Eric Woods was named chief operating officer at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In the key leadership role, he is expected to "elevate the experience of all visitors, optimize strategy and museum operations, and drive financial growth and a sustainable future." Forest previously served as associate dean for Assistants and Finance for Northeastern Academy's Khoury College of Informatics. He starts at MFA Boston on January. 4.


Jamillah James. | Photograph by Jasmine Clarke

Jamillah James, Senior Curator | Museum of Gimmicky Art Chicago in Chicago, Ill.

The Museum of Contemporary Fine art Chicago hired Jamillah James to serve as Manilow Senior Curator. The news was announced November. 17. MCA Chicago described her new function equally leading the visual arts department and serving as a "driving force" in curatorial programming. James is joining the museum from the Found of Gimmicky Fine art in Los Angeles (ICA LA) where she is senior curator. She co-organized the "2021 Triennial: Soft Water Hard Stone" at the New Museum in New York. On view through Jan. 23, the triennial features an international slate of emerging artists. James officially starts at MCA Chicago in January.


Essence Harden. | Photo by Joyce Kim

Essence Harden, Visual Arts Curator | California African American Museum, Los Angeles, Calif.

The California African American Museum (CAAM) named Essence Harden visual arts curator on Nov. 17. An independent curator and writer, Harden has previously collaborated with CAAM, serving equally guest curator of "Shinique Smith: Refuge" (2018) and co-curator of "Plumb Line: Charles White and the Contemporary" (2019). At the Orange County Museum of Art, Harden is co-curating the 2022 California Biennial. She officially joined CAAM on Dec. 13.


Stephanie Sparling Williams. | Photo by Hector Membreno-Canales

Stephanie Sparling Williams, Curator of American Art | Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, N.Y.

On Nov. eighteen, the Brooklyn Museum appear the date of Stephanie Sparling Williams as the Andrew Due west. Mellon Curator of American Art. In addition to managing the museum's collection of paintings, sculpture, and works on paper dating from the colonial period to 1960, she is shepherding "the Museum's mission to expand the art historical canon by highlighting underrepresented narratives, including those of Black Americans, Indigenous peoples of the Americas, and women" and leading the Council for African American Art. Previously, Sparling Williams served as associate curator at the Mountain Holyoke College Art Museum. She was too a visiting lecturer in art history and African American studies at Mount Holyoke and author of the recently published volume "Speaking Out of Turn: Lorraine O'Grady and the Fine art of Language." Sparling Williams joined the Brooklyn Museum before this month.


Curator Kimberli Gant. | Courtesy Brooklyn Museum

Kimberli Gant, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art | Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, N.Y.

On November. 18, the Brooklyn Museum appear Kimberli Gant volition serve in a newly created position as curator of modern and gimmicky art. Gant is joining the Brooklyn Museum from the Chrysler Museum of Fine art in Norfolk, Va., where she was the McKinnon Curator of Mod and Contemporary Art. Her forthcoming exhibition, "Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence and the Mbari Order" opens in Oct 2022 at the Chrysler Museum and will travel to the New Orleans Museum of Fine art and the Toledo Museum of Fine art. Gant officially starts at the Brooklyn Museum in January.

DECEMBER


Eric Pryor flanked past paintings by John Neagle ("Pat Lyon at the Forge," 1829) and Kehinde Wiley (Three Wise Men Greeting Entry into Lagos," 2008). | Courtesy of JEH Creatives/Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Eric Pryor, President | Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pa.

The Pennsylvania University of the Fine Arts (PAFA) in Philadelphia announced its next president on Dec. 9. Eric Pryor has been tapped to lead PAFA. Pryor is the first Blackness person to head the institution, which was established in 1805 and is the offset and oldest art museum and art schoolhouse in the United States. Pryor is joining PAFA from the Harlem School of the Arts, where he has served as president since 2015. His previous roles include executive director of The Center for Arts Teaching in New York; executive manager of the New Jersey State Museum; and president of the Visual Arts Centre of New Jersey. Earlier in his career, Pryor was executive director of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation'southward Middle for Arts and Culture in Brooklyn, N.Y. Pryor officially begins at PAFA on Jan. 18.

"I am profoundly honored to be taking on the leadership of this celebrated and celebrated institution. I am eager to work in partnership with the PAFA board, staff, faculty, students, and alumni, and starting time writing its next magnificent chapter together. I'thousand also delighted to exist returning to Philadelphia and its varied communities. It is a metropolis of smashing fine art and artistry, with PAFA as one of its crown jewels." — Eric Pryor


Crystal Williams | Photo by Jo Sittenfeld, Courtesy RISD

Crystal Williams, President | Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, R.I.

Crystal Williams is the new president of the Rhode Isle Schoolhouse of Design (RISD). The school'south lath of trustees appear her appointment on December. xvi. A professor, poet, and diversity abet, Williams brings more 2 decades of college education experience to RISD. She currently serves equally vice president and associate provost for customs & inclusion at Boston University, where she has as well been a professor of English since 2017. Previously, Williams was associate vice president for strategic initiatives, professor of English, and senior advisor to the president at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine (2013–17). She began her bookish career at Reed College in Portland, Ore., where she was a professor of English (2000–11) and afterwards served as inaugural dean for institutional diversity (2011-thirteen). The new presidential date is historic. Williams volition be the first African American to lead RISD. She officially starts on April 1. CT

Discover MORE Culture Type has previously reported new curatorial and arts leader appointments in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020

READ MORE U.S. museum staff diversity has largely been gauged past a demographic surveys conducted by the Andrew Due west. Mellon Foundation. Findings were published in 2015 and 2019. (A number of case studies were likewise released in 2017-xviii.)

Detect More about the Mellon survey findings on Civilization Blazon

FIND MORE In April, Chrysler Museum of Fine art and Hampton University received $500,000 grant from Mellon Foundation to fund three-twelvemonth fellowship program: Diversifying the Field of Curation and Conservation

FIND MORE In May, the Saint Louis Art Museum hosted Advancing Modify, a national summit on museum diversity, a virtual event that drew on lessons from its longstanding Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellowship program

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