Studio Museum in Harlem Appoints New Chief Program Officer: Natasha L. Logan is ‘Proven Leader’ With ‘Deep Commitment to Uplifting Artists’s Voices’
THE STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM is welcoming Natasha L. Logan as its chief program officer. The Studio Museum focuses on local, national, and international artists of African descent. Logan will be responsible for exhibition and program strategies, a key leadership role supporting the museum’s mission and fundraising goals. Logan joins the Studio Museum from Creative...
Imani Roach Named Curatorial Director of Philadelphia Museum of Art’s New Center for African and African Diasporic Art
THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART (PMA) announced in February 2023 the establishment of the Brind Center for African and African Diasporic Art. A year later, the museum has selected Imani Roach to lead the center. Roach joins PMA from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York where she currently serves as assistant curator, Arts...
Lauren Haynes Named Head Curator of Governors Island in New York, She is Expected to Grow the Public Art Program
Governors Island: The Exchange (aerial view), showing the iconic forms designed to evoke the dramatic landscapes and hills of the island with the skyscrapers that define Manhattan’s skyline in the background. | © SOM | Miysis via Governors Island GOVERNORS ISLAND offers a quick escape from the city streets to a park-like environment with...
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces Newly Created Position, Appoints Dalila Scruggs Inaugural Augusta Savage Curator of African American Art
THE SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM (SAAM) announced the appointment of Dalila Scruggs to a newly created role on its curatorial team. Scruggs is joining the Washington, D.C., museum as the inaugural Augusta Savage Curator of African American Art. Currently, she is curator for photography and prints at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for...
Historic Appointment: Robert C. Davidson Jr., is New Chair of Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Board of Commissioners
THE SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM (SAAM) in Washington, D.C., has a new board chair. Robert “Bob” C. Davidson Jr., was appointed chair of SAAM’s Board of Commissioners, effective Jan. 1, 2024. The news was announced Feb. 15. He was appointed by his fellow commissioners to a four-year term. Davidson is the retired chairman, CEO, and...
Adrienne Edwards Appointed Senior Curator and Associate Director of Curatorial Programs at Whitney Museum, Expanding Her Leadership Role
THE WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART in New York announced the promotion of Adrienne Edwards to the position of Engell Speyer Family Senior Curator and Associate Director of Curatorial Programs. Edwards joined the Whitney in 2018 as curator of performance and was named director of curatorial affairs in 2021. She is currently organizing “Edges of...
Building History: Kimberly Dowdell is AIA’s 100th President. First Black Woman to Lead Architecture Organization Plans to ‘Do More’
Kimberly Dowdell, AIA, gives remarks in her first moments as president. | Photo courtesy AIA THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS (AIA) elected its first Black female president. Kimberly Dowdell, AIA, is the 2024 President of AIA. Dowdell, 40, describes herself as “an architect determined to make the world a better place.” She is a...
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...
