Moving On Up: Amid Financial Setbacks at Museums, 31 Curators and Arts Leaders Took on New Appointments in Second Half of 2023
Culture Type reports on new appointments of Black curators and arts leaders to get a sense of representation in museums, with an emphasis on art museums. Museum leaders, curators, and educators shape the management and intellectual direction of institutions, determine the art visitors see and the programming they experience and, by extension, whether audiences of...
David C. Howse Appointed President of California College of the Arts in San Francisco
California College of the Arts in San Francisco was established in 1907 and offers more than 30 programs and disciplines across art, design, architecture and writing. | Photo Courtesy CCA David C. Howse starts in the new role in December, joining the ranks of a few other African Americans leading U.S. art schools ...
Belinda Tate Hired as Next Director of Indianapolis Museum of Art: Beleaguered by Racial Controversies, Institution is Charting New Direction
Three Black women will now lead the institution serving as board chair, president and CEO, and director of the museum NEWFIELDS ANNOUNCED THE APPOINTMENT of Belinda Tate as the next director of the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA). An encyclopedic museum founded in 1883, IMA is part of Newfields, a cultural institution spread across...
Departure: Sarah Workneh is Stepping Down From Co-Director Role at Skowhegan After 14 Years. Her ‘Commitment to the Program Has Been Unwavering’
AFTER 14 YEARS, Sarah Workneh is stepping down from her position as co-director of the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture. Known as the residency program “founded by artists for artists,” Skowhegan was established in 1946. Located on a 350-acre campus in Madison, Maine, Skowhegan’s nine-week summer program offers a profound educational experience for artists....
Moving On Up: 34 Museum Curators and Arts Leaders Who Took on New Appointments in First Half of 2023
NEARLY THREE DOZEN Black curators and arts leaders accepted new appointments at an array of museums and arts institutions in the first half of 2023. Notably, Brooke A. Minto was appointed executive director and CEO of the Columbus Art Museum in Ohio. She joined the museum from the Black Trustee Alliance for Art Museums,...
Brandywine Workshop in Philadelphia Appoints Michele A. Parchment Executive Director, Marking First Leadership Change Since Its Founding in 1972
Michele A. Parchment. | Courtesy Brandywine Workshop and Archives Groundbreaking print workshop and arts organization founded by Allan L. Edmunds celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022 IN PHILADELPHIA, the Brandywine Workshop and Archives (BWA) is welcoming a new executive director. The BWA Board of Directors announced the appointment of Michele A. Parchment, effective...
Diane Jean-Mary Appointed Executive Director of Black Trustees Alliance for Art Museums, Group Aims to Transform Museums into More Equitable Institutions
THE BLACK TRUSTEES ALLIANCE for Art Museums (BTA) is welcoming Diane Jean-Mary as its next executive director. Jean-Mary was previously an executive at LaPlaca Cohen, an arts consultancy where she worked with art museums and cultural institutions on strategic vision, organizational development, and socio-cultural impact. The Black Trustees Alliance is committed to Black representation in...
Whitney Museum of American Art Announced Appointment of Meg Onli to the Role of Curator-at-Large: ‘This is Truly a Dream Job’
FOLLOWING THE ANNOUNCEMENT last fall that Meg Onli would co-curate the 2024 Whitney Biennial, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York has tapped the writer and curator for the position of curator-at-large, a wide-ranging and fully engaged role. The appointment was announced this morning and Onli officially started today. The first person...
Ryan N. Dennis is Joining Contemporary Arts Museum Houston as Senior Curator and Director of Public Initiatives
CONTEMPORARY ARTS MUSEUM HOUSTON (CAMH) announced Ryan N. Dennis is joining its curatorial team as senior curator and director of public initiatives. The appointment is a homecoming. Dennis was born in Houston, educated at the University of Houston, where she has also taught, and spent more than half of her burgeoning curatorial career in...
President Biden Appointed Queens Museum Head Curator Lauren Haynes to White House Preservation Committee
PRESIDENT BIDEN APPOINTED 13 MEMBERS to the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, including Lauren Haynes, director of curatorial affairs and programs at the Queens Museum in New York. The advisory committee is primarily composed of citizens selected by the President based on their expertise and scholarship in the areas of historic...
Gov. Gavin Newsom Appointed Dedicated LA Arts Patron Joy Simmons to California African American Museum Board of Directors
A LONGSTANDING PATRON OF THE ARTS, Dr. Virginia Joy Simmons, has joined the State Board of Directors at the California African American Museum (CAAM) in Los Angeles. Chartered by the State of California in 1977, CAAM is a state-funded museum. Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Simmons to the non-compensated position on Dec. 22, 2022. “Simmons...
Birmingham Museum of Art Names Chantal Drake Deputy Director
THE BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM OF ART (BMA) announced Chantal Drake is joining the Alabama museum as James Milton and Sallie R. Johnson Deputy Director. The appointment is a homecoming of sorts. A native of Huntsville, Ala., Drake’s interest in museums was first sparked when she visited the Birmingham Museum of Art as a young girl and...
Michelle Commander: New Deputy Director of National Museum of African American History and Culture Joining Smithsonian From Schomburg Center
THE SMITHSONIAN’S National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) named a new deputy director on Jan. 10. Michelle Commander is joining the Washington, D.C., museum in the No. 2 role. She arrives from the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, where she served most recently as deputy...
Founding Deputy Director Kinshasha Holman Conwill Has Retired From Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture
A MUSEUM LEADER and institution builder, Kinshasha Holman Conwill dedicated her entire career to being a faithful steward of art, history, and culture, establishing the background and experience necessary to seize the opportunity of a lifetime. Few get the chance to help envision and develop a monument to the African American experience, from ideas...
Taylor Jasper is Joining Walker Art Center as Assistant Curator of Visual Arts
IN MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., the Walker Art Center named Taylor Jasper assistant curator of visual arts. The appointment was announced Jan. 10. A member of a growing team in the Visual Arts department, Jasper’s portfolio will span exhibitions, acquisitions, artist projects, and public programming. She is joining the Walker from The Momentary, a contemporary art...
On the Rise: 27 Museum Curators and Arts Leaders Who Took on New Appointments in Second Half of 2022
BLACK CURATORS AND ARTS LEADERS took on key roles at a variety of museums and arts institutions in the second half of 2022. Sean Decatur will be the next president of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), a world-renowned New York institution that welcomes about 5 million visitors a year. Announced early this...
Tsione Wolde-Michael Appointed Executive Director of President’s Committee on Arts and Humanities: After 5-Year Hiatus, PCAH is Getting Back to Work
IN WASHINGTON, D.C., the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) is announcing a new leader today. Tsione Wolde-Michael has been appointed executive director of the committee. Engaging with artists, scholars, and cultural heritage leaders, PCAH strives to center the arts, humanities, and museum and library services in the civic and cultural...
Appointment: Courtney Willis Blair Will Lead White Cube Gallery in New York
IT’S NEARLY UNHEARD OF for a white-owned art gallery to offer a stake in the business to a Black dealer. Courtney Willis Blair was in rare company in January 2021 when she was named partner and senior director at Mitchell-Innes & Nash in New York. Willis Blair is continuing to break new ground in...
Michelle Jacques Appointed Board President of Association of Art Museum Curators, Three Black Women Will Hold Top Board Positions in 2023-24
Incoming Board President Michelle Jacques THE ASSOCIATION of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) & AAMC Foundation announced a new leadership team. Michelle Jacques has been appointed president of the board of trustees for a two-year term beginning Jan. 1. She brings more than two decades of experience in the field to her new role. Currently,...
On the Rise: 47 Museum Curators and Arts Leaders Who Took on New Appointments in First Half of 2022
DOZENS OF BLACK CURATORS and arts leaders took on new appointments in the first half of 2022. Jenenne Whitfield will helm the Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Md. Camille Ann Brewer recently assumed leadership of the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles in California. In London, Gilane Tawadros has been selected as the...
