Matthew Teitelbaum, Ann and Graham Gund Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), has announced several new curatorial appointments. Anne E. Havinga has been promoted to Estrellita and Yousuf Karsh Chair, Department of Photography, while Christine Kondoleon has been promoted to George D. and Margo Behrakis Chair, Art of Ancient Greece and Rome. Additionally, Akili Tommasino has been appointed as the Associate Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art, and will begin his new position at the MFA in October.
Havinga began her career at the MFA nearly three decades ago, becoming the Museum’s first curator of photographs in 2001. She has organized more than 35 exhibitions over the years—including, most recently, Alfred Stieglitz and Modern America; In the Wake: Japanese Photographers Respond to 3/11 (co-curated with Anne Nishimura Morse, William and Helen Pounds Curator of Japanese Art) and Silver, Salt, and Sunlight: Early Photography in Britain and France.
Kondoleon has been working at the Museum for 17 years, most recently as the George D. and Margo Behrakis Senior Curator of Greek and Roman Art. In addition to curating the exhibitions Games for the Gods and Aphrodite and the Gods of Love, she has led a team to re-imagine the Greek and Roman collections in seven new galleries to date. In 2017, Kondoleon oversaw the installation of the new “Daily Life in Ancient Greece” gallery, which displays 250 recently conserved objects and encourages visitors to engage and make connections with an ancient culture.
Tommasino comes to the MFA from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), where he has worked on a range of collection-based initiatives and supported various programs as a Curatorial Assistant since 2014. This summer marked the second iteration of the Prep for Prep/Sotheby’s Summer Art Academy, which Tommasino founded with the support of Sotheby’s to give New York City high school students of color an earlier window into the art world to promote diversity in the field. In his new position at the MFA, Tommasino will report to Reto Thüring, the recently appointed chair of the Contemporary Art department, who will assume his role at the MFA in September.
In addition to introducing the position of Associate Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art, the MFA is expanding its efforts to foster the next curatorial generation by providing a new training opportunity in the field of Japanese art. A grant of $1 million from the Tokyo-based Ishibashi Foundation enables the Museum to host five fellows over the next decade, who will each serve as the Ishibashi Foundation Assistant Curator for Japanese Art for a two-year period. An international search is currently underway for the first fellow, who will collaborate with the MFA’s curatorial staff on a wide range of projects, including planning for exhibitions in Boston and Japan, cataloging the collection and researching acquisitions. The Ishibashi Foundation Assistant Curator for Japanese Art will report to Christina Yu Yu, who joined the MFA as the Matsutaro Shoriki Chair, Art of Asia earlier this summer.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), is recognized for the quality and scope of its collection, representing all cultures and time periods. The Museum has more than 140 galleries displaying its encyclopedic collection, which includes Art of the Americas; Art of Europe; Contemporary Art; Art of Asia; Art of Africa and Oceania; Art of Ancient Greece and Rome; Art of Ancient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East; Prints and Drawings; Photography; Textile and Fashion Arts; and Musical Instruments. Open seven days a week, the MFA’s hours are Saturday through Tuesday, 10 am–5 pm; and Wednesday through Friday, 10 am–10 pm. Admission (which includes one repeat visit within 10 days) is $25 for adults and $23 for seniors and students age 18 and older, and includes entry to all galleries and special exhibitions. Admission is free for University Members and youths age 17 and younger. Wednesday nights after 4 pm admission is by voluntary contribution (suggested donation $25), while five Open Houses offer the opportunity to visit the Museum for free. The Museum’s mobile MFA Guide is available at ticket desks and the Sharf Visitor Center for $5, members; $6, non-members; and $4, youths. The Museum is closed on New Year’s Day, Patriots’ Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The MFA is located on the Avenue of the Arts at 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115. For more information, call 617.267.9300, visit mfa.org or follow the MFA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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