ART CURATORS MENTORSHIP PROGRAM FOSTERS NEXT GENERATION OF CURATORIAL LEADERS

ART CURATORS MENTORSHIP PROGRAM FOSTERS NEXT GENERATION OF CURATORIAL LEADERS

Association of Art Museum Curators Foundation Announces 2022 Mentee Cohort

August 8, 2022, NEW YORK, NY --The Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) Foundation announced the 2022 Mentorship Program Mentees.  In a time of expanding responsibilities, combined with a dearth of professional development opportunities, AAMC Foundation’s Mentorship Program provides participants with learning experiences to develop their leadership roles and advocacy voices.  Established in 2014, the respected program has welcomed Mentees across 30 U.S. States and 12 countries, with over 80% securing at least one or more new and/or elevated positions since participating.

Awarded Mentees for the 2022 program are:

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

“We are honored to continue this vital and unique global program for mid-career curators,” said Judith Pineiro, Executive Director, AAMC & AAMC Foundation. “The program’s multilayered learning and experience building activities reinforce our mission at its core: supporting and advancing the curatorial field; forwarding inclusion, collaboration and access in art organizations; and enhancing curatorial audience engagement.”

Providing each Mentee with a stipend and full travel/accommodation for all elements, the 10-month program has four major components, which are:

• In-person intensive workshops in NYC, November 2022 and May 2023
• Virtual learning sessions, January through February 2023
• Mentor partnership, including a multi-day in-person visit and online meetings, October 2022 through April 2023
• Attendance and alumni networking at the 2023 Art Curators Conference, May 2023

In-person workshops include one-on-one consultations with a career advice coach, a half-day experience at a major NYC museum, a fundraising practicum, and seminars on self-advocacy and promotion. Virtual sessions will engage community leaders on the topics of diversity, inclusion, education, audience development, social justice, the art market, board responsibilities and relationships, and the future of museums. 

Mentors include senior level curators from Art Institute of Chicago; The Drawing Center; The Menil Collection; The Metropolitan Museum of Art;  Milwaukee Art Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Nelson-Atkins Museum;  The Phoenix Art Museum,;Princeton University Art Museum; and Rollins Museum of Art.

In May 2023, the Mentees will attend the Art Curators Conference, along with their cohort, program alumni, and curators from around the globe. The program concludes with a virtual meeting of the cohort, with each Mentee presenting how the program impacted and shaped their goals and development.  

To read more about this year’s cohort, please click here. The ten Mentees self-identify as 70% female; 30% Hispanic, Latinx or Spanish origin; 10% Punjabi Asian; 10% prefer not to answer; and 50% white; and 70% between the ages of 30 and 39. For more information on AAMC Foundation’s fellowships and programming, please visit artcurators.org.

This program is made possible through the generosity of Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Barbara Futter, Catherine Futter, the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, Institute for Museum and Library Services, and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the AAMC Foundation President’s Circle.

ABOUT THE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
Established in 2014, the AAMC Foundation’s Mentorship Program has welcomed Mentees across 30 U.S. States and 12 countries, with over 80% securing at least one or more new and/or elevated positions since participating. The program is for curators with a minimum of seven and a maximum of ten years of experience, and provides opportunities to advance professional development, investigate important issues in the field, and cultivate strong bonds.  During the course of the program, Mentees engage in leadership training to advance and excel their careers by taking part in in-person and virtual training and course work, peer cohort relations, and guidance from one-on-one Mentor pairings. Up to ten Mentees are selected each year through a free, competitive, open application process. All Mentees are provided funding to support their participation in the program, including all travel and accommodation components, a stipend, and access to the Art Curators Conference.

ABOUT AAMC & AAMC FOUNDATION 
Founded in 2001, the Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) today has over 1,400 members from over 500+ institutions around the globe. Together the AAMC &  AAMC Foundation celebrate the curatorial narrative by supporting and promoting the work of art curators at all stages in their career through opportunities for networking, collaboration, professional development, and career advancement.  In the ever-changing, non-profit visual art world, the AAMC Foundation is the voice for all curators—regardless of field, experience level, and institutional type.  It ensures that the curatorial perspective on art, museums, and educational issues is actively communicated to the public, media, and museum profession.  

CONTACT
Judith Pineiro, Executive Director, judith.pineiro@artcurators.org
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