Director of Smithsonian’s African American Museum stepped down, Andrea Barnwell Brownlee departing Cummer Museum of Art,
antiquities dealer Leonardo Patterson died
antiquities dealer Leonardo Patterson died
AWARDS & HONORS | April 2: Sheela Gowda received the 2025 Sam Gilliam Award. The Dia Art Foundation and Sam Gilliam Foundation announced the award, which includes a $75,000 gift and a public presentation at a Dia location in fall 2025. The Sam Gilliam Award was established in 2023 and Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama was the first recipient. Gowda, the second, lives and works in Bengaluru, India. She is “known for her evocative, process-oriented practice that blends painting, sculpture, and installation” and often works with “everyday and organic materials—such as cow dung, hair, incense, and tar drums—imbued with cultural and political significance.” | More
LIVES | April 3: Leonardo Patterson, 82, was a dealer of Latin American antiquities active in Miami, Fla., and New York, before moving to Germany nearly four decades ago. He died in Bautzen, Germany, on Feb. 11. According to his obituary, Patterson “rose improbably from rural poverty in Costa Rica to the towering heights of the global antiquities market, despite accusations that he trafficked in fake and stolen artifacts — and who fell precipitously when those accusations proved to be true…” | New York Times
APPOINTMENTS > | April 4: Kevin Young (right), director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) since 2021, is no longer serving in the role. In a statement, NMAAHC confirmed his departure on Nov. 4, citing his desire to focus on writing. While leading the museum, Young continued simultaneously to serve as poetry editor of The New Yorker, a position he has held since 2017. Young had been on personal leave since March 14, according to reports, prior to Trump issuing a March 27 executive order targeting the Smithsonian and NMAAHC. Shanita Brackett, associate director of operations at NMAAHC is serving as interim director of the museum. (Photo by Melanie Dunea) | Washington Post and New York Times
AWARDS & HONORS | April 7: The Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College recognized Amber Esseiva with its 2025 CCS Bard Alumni Award at CCS Bard’s spring gala in New York. The award honors “an outstanding graduate for sustained innovation and engagement in exhibition making, public education, research, and a commitment to the field.” Esseiva is currently serving as interim head curator at the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. She earned an M.A. in curatorial studies from Bard in 2015. | More
APPOINTMENTS > | April 8: The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in Jacksonville, Fla., announced the departure of Director and CEO Andrea Barnwell Brownlee (right). The museum said she submitted her retirement, effective May 1. Brownlee joined the Cummer Museum in December 2020, from the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, where she served as director for two decades. “I have been honored to lead the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens and am proud it is increasingly regarded as a vibrant cultural hub of Jacksonville that is welcoming to all,” Brownlee said in a statement. “I am excited about devoting more time to my family and pursuing other interests. I wish the Cummer Museum, its Board of Trustees, exceptional staff and docents all the best.” CFO Kimberly Noble will serve as interim director and CEO. (Photo courtesy Cummer Museum) | More
APPOINTMENTS | April 8: Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) in Cape Town, South Africa, announced nine new members of its global council: Dr. Anita Blanchard (USA), Chicago gynecologist, philanthropist, and collector; artist Dave Ross (USA), Holly Peterson (USA), writer and arts philanthropist; Jessica Nowitzki (Sweden), collector, philanthropist and President of the Dirk Nowitzki Foundation; artist Michael Armitage (Kenya/UK); Sarah Arison (USA), president of Museum of Modern Art in New York; Makole Mupita (South Africa), co-founder of Mahlako A Phahla Group, an African women-owned social infrastructure group in advisory services, financial services and alternative investment management; and artist Otobong Nkanga (Nigeria/Belgium) and Wim van Dongen (The Netherlands/Belgium), her husband and studio manager. The additions bring the council membership to 27 people. | More
SANLÉ SORY, “Belle de Jour,” 1974 (gelatin silver print). | © Sanlé Sory. Courtesy Yossi Milo, New York
ACQUISITIONS | April 10: Seven artworks from the Dallas Art Fair were added to the permanent collection of the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA), including “Belle de Jour” (1974), a photograph by Sanlé Sory of Burkina Faso. Sory’s work “documents of the exuberant youth culture in Burkina Faso following the small West African nation’s independence from France.” The art fair and DMA announced the acquisitions, which are part of the Dallas Art Fair Foundation Acquisition Program. Launched in 2016, the program has provided $965,000 in acquisition funds. This year’s grant was nearly $100,000. | More
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