CONNIE H. CHOI is joining the Studio Museum in Harlem as associate curator, permanent collection. In her new position, she is responsible for the strategic vision for the museum’s collection, a repository of more than 2,200 objects created between the 19th and 21st centuries. Her first day at the Studio Museum is Feb. 6.
“We are thrilled to have Connie bring her significant experience and expertise in American art, African American art and museum collections to the Studio Museum,” Thelma Golden, director of the Studio Museum, said in the announcement. “I am confident that she will be a wonderful addition to the curatorial team as we approach our ftieth anniversary and continue to grow our collection.”
“We are thrilled to have Connie bring her significant experience and expertise in American art, African American art and museum collections to the Studio Museum. I am confident that she will be a wonderful addition to the curatorial team as we approach our ftieth anniversary and continue to grow our collection.” — Thelma Golden
Choi has spent the more than seven years at the Brooklyn Museum. She began as a graduate intern and research associate in 2009. Currently, she is an assistant curator at the Brooklyn institution. During her tenure, she has worked on numerous exhibitions and been involved with the museum’s collection. Choi organized “Forever Coney: Photographs from the Brooklyn Museum Collection” (2015) and was project manager and co-curator for the recent reinstallation of the American galleries. Choi has also assisted with the Fund for African American Art, which focuses on expanding the museum’s collection with works by important African American artists through gifts and purchases.
She holds degrees from Yale and Harvard and is a Ph.D candidate in art history at Columbia University. Her research spans African American art, the history of photography, and the intersection of race, history, and culture.
CHOI IS JOINING the Studio Museum at a prime time. The Harlem institution is gearing up for its 50th anniversary fast approaching in 2018. Later this year, the museum is expected to break ground on a new building designed by architect David Adjaye. The five-story, 71,000-square-foot structure features 50 percent more gallery space, enabling the museum to regularly present works from its permanent collection.
Currently on view, “Circa 1970,” draws from the museum’s collection and presents works in a range of mediums produced between 1970 and 1979. The show is curated by Lauren Haynes, Choi’s predecessor who joined the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in October.
Choi said: “I’ve long admired and respected the vision and mission of The Studio Museum in Harlem, so I’m thrilled to be joining the institution as it embarks on a critical and exciting phase.” CT
TOP IMAGE: Connie H. Choi by Jonathan Dorado
BOOKSHELF
Connie H. Choi has contributed to several publications, “John Singer Sargent Watercolors” (2013) and “Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic” (2015), among them. Her writing also appears in important exhibition catalogs exploring specific moments in art history, including “Now Dig This!: Art and Black Los Angeles 1960–1980” (2011), “Witness: Art and Civil Rights in the Sixties” (2014), and the forthcoming volume “We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85” (2017).
1 comment
David Lusenhop says:
Jan 27, 2017
This is wonderful news. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Connie in the past few years, especially during the period she helped organize the important “Witness: Art and Civil Rights in the Sixties” exhibition that included a number of works from my collection. She is brilliant. I’m thrilled that she will be part of the Studio Museum’s team, though this move is a loss for Brooklyn Museum.