The Propel Program is a multifaceted initiative designed to support and accelerate a curator’s mid-career advancement. The Propel Program is the longest-running

initiative of its kind offering both training sessions and workshops as well as support through a professional network including a pairing with a senior curatorial mentor, a peer cohort, and alumni community. 

Curators with 8 - 10 years of experience are eligible to apply. Through a competitive, open application process, up to 10 Fellows are selected for the program.  We encourage international and U.S. based curators to apply. Applications open each spring.

2025 FELLOW COHORT

• Olivia Aherne, Curator, Chisenhale Gallery, London, United Kingdom
• Nicole Berlin, Associate Curator of Collections, The Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA
• Anaïs Castro, Assistant Curator, National Gallery of Canada, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• Sara E. Cole, Associate Curator of Antiquities, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA
• Sara Cluggish, Mary Hulings Rice Director and Curator, The Perlman Teaching Museum, Carlton College, Northfield, MN
• Ziying Duan, Assistant Curator, UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art, Costa Mesa, CA
• Aindrea Emelife, Curator, Modern and Contemporary, Museum of West African Art, Benin City, Nigeria
• Georgia Erger, Curator, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA
• Patricia Hernadez, Associate Curator, Amant, Brooklyn, NY
• Lana Meador, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX
  
  Learn more about the 2025 Propel fellows here.

2025 MENTORS

• Emerson Bowyer, Searle Curator, Painting and Sculpture of Europe, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
• Nicholas Chambers, Senior Curator, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
• Christa Clarke, Director of Curatorial Strategy, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA
• Jessica Hong, Chief Curator, Kemper Museum, St. Louis, MO
• Kati Kivinen, Chief Curator for Collections, HAM Helsinki Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland
• Miranda Kyle, Curator of Indigenous Arts of the Americas, Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
• Rosalind McKever, Curator of Paintings and Drawings, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom
• Tamara Schenkenberg, Independent Curator, St. Louis, MO
• Joanne Snrech, Curator, Musée National Picasso-Paris, Paris, France
• Elizabeth Williams, David & Peggy Rockefeller Curator, RISD Museum, Providence, RI
  
  Learn more about the 2025 Propel Mentors here.

2024 FELLOW COHORT

• Andrea Achi, Mary and Michael Jaharis Associate Curator of Byzantine Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
• Sofie Christensen, Associate Curator, KW Institute for Contemporary Arts Berlin, Berlin, Germany
• Véronique Côté, University Galleries Director, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
• Naz Cuguoglu, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
• Lauren Leving, Independent Curator, Chicago, IL
• Leilani Lynch, Associate Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Denver, CO
• Bojana Stancic, Program Curator, Performance and Live, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada
• Lauren Thompson, Curator of Exhibitions, McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX
• Lauren Turton, Curator, Artspace Mackay, Mackay, Queensland, Australia
• Christian Wurst, Associate Curator for Exhibitions, Sheldon Museum of Art, The University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Lincoln, NE

Learn more about the 2024 Cohort here.

2023 FELLOW COHORT

• Nora-Swantje Almes, Curator Live Programme, Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen, Norway
• Ndubuisi Ezeuomba, Curator of African Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA
• J. Raúl Guzman, Assistant Curator, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Los Angeles, CA
• Aleia McDaniel, Curatorial Assistant, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA
• Kutlwano Mokgojwa, African Art Curator, Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg, South Africa
• Leila Reichert, Curator of Contemporary Art, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana Univeristy, Bloomington, IN
• Katja Rivera, Curator of Contemporary Art, Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO
• Jacqueline Saragoza McGilvray, Curator and Exhibitions Manager, Contemporary at Blue Star, San Antonio, TX
• Angela Tate, Curator, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, DC
• Ana Ruiz Valencia, Junior Curator, Medellin Museum of Art, Medellin, Colombia

Learn more about the 2023 Cohort here.

2022 FELLOW COHORT

• Dina Akhmadeeva, Assistant Curator, Tate Modern, London, UK
• Juan Andrés Valtierra Barboza,Contemporary Art Curator, Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City, Mexico
• Alison Gail Burstein, Curator, The Kitchen, New York, NY
• Jennifer Rose Carty, Associate Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art, Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
• Jimmy Castillo, Director for Exhibitions and Curatorial Projects, Art League Houston, Houston, TX
• Dorota Chudzicka, Assistant Curator of Modern European Art, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
• Reena Dewan, Board Chair, Director, Bridging Culture and Arts Foundation, Kolkata Centre for Creativity, Kolkata, India
• Claire Howard, Assistant Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art,Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX
• Jennifer Inacio, Associate Curator, Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami, FL
• Stephanie Weissberg, Curator, Pulitzer Arts Foundation, Saint Louis, MO

Learn more about the 2022 Cohort here.

2021 FELLOW COHORT

2020 FELLOW COHORT