ANN ARBOR – The University of Michigan Museum of Art has appointed veteran curator and arts educator Vera Grant as its new deputy director of curatorial affairs and curator of modern and contemporary art.
As part of the newly created role, Grant will create and lead a dynamic program of historic and contemporary exhibitions and implement managerial oversight and strategic vision for the museum's collections, exhibitions, publications and conservation.
"Vera Grant has exceptional experience, intellectual range, an immersive approach to visual culture and commitment to broad public dialogue, and underrepresented voices and perspectives," UMMA director Christina Olsen said in a press release. "She is the perfect creative partner to join us in shaping the museum's future, and I look forward to working with her to develop exciting new ways to engage the entire university and our broader public."
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Grant has an impressive resume prior to coming to UMMA.
Since 2012, she has been the director of the Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African & African American Art at the Hutchins Center at Harvard University. Before that, she served as executive director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard and as the associate director of the African and African American Studies Program at Stanford University for six years from 2001 to 2007.
Throughout her career, Grant has curated various exhibitions. A Fulbright scholar, she earned a master's in modern European history from Stanford and a bachelor's in history from the City College of New York, CUNY. She is also a fellow at the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Center for Curatorial Leadership and the Sheila Biddle Ford Foundation.
"I am excited to come to UMMA and to activate the museum's remarkable collections and develop an ambitious slate of exhibitions, programs and publications that engage the defining issues and ideas of our time," said Grant in a press release. She begins at UMMA Sept. 4.