CCL Announces 2015 Fellows

The Center for Curatorial Leadership (CCL) has announced its eighth class of fellows, twelve accomplished curators who have demonstrated that they are poised to be leaders in the field of art museums. The group includes professionals from ten United States institutions and two international museums. For nine of the museums, this is the first time that a member of its team has been selected for this prestigious training program. The fellows were chosen through a competitive review process involving a committee of leading museum directors.

Class of 2015:

• Dorthe Aagesen, Curator/Senior Researcher, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Kathleen Ash-Milby, Associate Curator, Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, New York City
• Rene Paul Barilleaux, Chief Curator/Curator of Art After 1945, McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas
• Gudrun Buehl, Curator/Museum Director, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.
• Carol Eliel, Curator of Modern Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California
• Anne Goodyear, Co-Director, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine
• Toby Kamps, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, The Menil Collection, Houston, Texas
• Corey Keller, Curator of Photography, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California
• Mary Morton, Curator/Head of the Department of French Paintings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
• Pieter Roelofs, Curator of 17th-Century Dutch Painting, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Xavier Salomon, Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, The Frick Collection, New York City
• Sarah Schleuning, Curator of Decorative Arts and Design, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia

The five-month program begins on January 5, 2015, with two weeks of training in New York City. The curriculum combines rigorous instruction provided by Columbia Business School professors and engagements with the city’s most innovative cultural leaders. During these two weeks, CCL takes examples from an extensive range of leadership styles and institutional models to teach its fellows how to build the critical tools necessary for organizational decision-making. Following this is the residency component, a highlight of the program, which offers the fellows an opportunity to shadow the director of a cultural institution for one week. The program culminates in May with a one-week session in Los Angeles. For this final week, CCL, in partnership with the Getty Leadership Institute at Claremont Graduate University, designs a unique assignment that prompts the fellows to apply the range of leadership tools, styles, and strategies they have learned over the five-month program. Divided into small teams, the fellows analyze the strategic issues of a Los Angeles cultural organization and deliver actionable solutions to its leaders at the conclusion of the week.

Together the 2015 fellows represent a wide variety of art historical specialties, including Dutch painting, Native American art, modern and contemporary art, decorative arts and design, Byzantine art, and photography. This year, as a pilot initiative, CCL reached beyond the curatorial ranks and selected two fellows who have directorial responsibilities. By bringing professionals with the broadest possible range of experiences into the program, CCL aims to enrich dialogue and expand the arc of training.

“We’re thrilled to welcome these twelve distinguished professionals into CCL. We are deeply impressed by their curatorial acumen and believe they have what it takes to be the leaders of the future,” stated Elizabeth Easton, CCL’s Director and Co-Founder. “What I notice in this cohort is determination to be catalysts of real change. They are engaged with diverse audiences, working hard to strengthen their strategic chops, and eager to impact and elevate the state of leadership in art museums.”

“We strongly believe that CCL’s unique training is empowering curators to be visionary stewards of art museums,” stated Agnes Gund, Co-Founder and Chair of CCL.

“We’re proud that these twelve individuals will join CCL’s expanding group of alumni. Seventy-four curators have completed the program since we launched CCL in 2008, creating a distinguished network that fosters collaboration and provides ongoing support. Our graduates and current fellows represent sixty-four different organizations, adding critical value to museums across the globe.”

Contact:
Hannah Howe
Center for Curatorial Leadership
646.405.8065
hannah.howe@artcurators.org