The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) has declared Asma Naeem as its subsequent director, powerful February 1. Naeem is the to start with particular person of coloration to lead the institution since its founding in 1914. She actions into the part from her preceding situation as BMA’s interim codirector, which she occupied together with Christine Dietze since June 2022. Naeem succeeds the very well-regarded Christopher Bedford, whose at times controversial tenure lasted from 2016 to 2022, when he departed to helm the San Francisco Museum of Contemporary Artwork.
“The BMA is committed to bringing diversity and fairness into each aspect of its get the job done, from the exhibitions and programs we build to the is effective we get to our inside doing work society,” said James D. Thornton, chair of the BMA’s board of trustees. “Since she joined the museum in 2018, Dr. Naeem has been integral to shaping this eyesight and to the strides we have produced to know it. Her determination to this effort and her unique standpoint on how we can carry on to generate improve created her the suitable preference to guide the BMA into the future. We are encouraged and excited by the prospects for our beloved museum with Dr. Naeem as our new director and look forward to our get the job done with each other.”
Naeem arrived at the BMA in 2018 as the institution’s Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown Main Curator. In that position, she curated solo displays for Candice Breitz, Isaac Julien, and Valerie Maynard and arranged the exhibition “Salman Toor: No Standard Love,” which just lately shut at the BMA and is established to travel to a few other US arts institutions. Her subsequent significant exhibition, “The Lifestyle: Hip Hop and Present-day Art in the 21st Century,” opens at the BMA in April before traveling to the Saint Louis Art Museum. Prior roles include many curatorial positions at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. Prior to getting to be a curator, Naeem labored in the industry of legislation as an assistant DA at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, and afterwards as an assistant bar counsel at the Business office of Bar Counsel in Washington, DC.
Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Naeem immigrated to the US as a youthful kid with her moms and dads. She grew up in the Baltimore spot and received a BA in art history and political science from Johns Hopkins University just before going on to generate a JD from Temple College, an MA from American College, and a Ph.D. in artwork heritage from the University of Maryland.
“I am fired up to now lead the BMA as we proceed to examine, experiment, and visualize what a museum can be and necessarily mean to its rapid neighborhood and broader networks of artists and associates,” mentioned Naeem. “As we go forward, there is an outstanding prospect to bring a greater depth of local and international voices into the dialogues about the record and evolution of artwork, about museums as group areas, and about the romantic relationship in between internal lifestyle to external experience—and in doing so develop meaningful adjust in the discipline. I am on the lookout forward to doing the job with the remarkable team in this article and with our lots of existing and upcoming collaborators.”
