Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, has appointed Allison Glenn as associate curator of contemporary art. Glenn has been manager of publications and curatorial associate for Prospect New Orleans, where she worked on the current iteration The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp and contributed to the catalogue. Prior to Prospect, she was the director of Monique Meloche Gallery in Chicago, where she curated the 2015 exhibition Look at Me Now! with up-and-coming artists such as Nina Chanel Abney, who recently installed a mural at Crystal Bridges.
Glenn joins Lauren Haynes in the growing contemporary art department. She will work on exhibition development, publications, ongoing projects and collaborations, including collection shows and installation on the grounds. In a press statement, Haynes says: “She brings a collaborative approach and great perspective that will help build on our contemporary art program and connect visitors to engaging arts experiences.”
“I am excited to be joining Crystal Bridges and look forward to getting to know the Northwest Arkansas community,” said Glenn. “I have dedicated my career to the cultivation of inclusive art histories, and am eager to bring my passion to a dynamic museum with a celebrated mission of welcoming all.
Glenn is a prolific writer, and has contributed to such publications as Hyperallergic, ART21 Magazine, Pelican Bomb, and Newcity. Among the exhibition catalogues she has contributed essays to are Wanderlust: Actions, Traces, Journeys 1967-2017 (MIT Press) and Prospect 3: Notes for Now (2014), Noah Purifoy: Junk Dada for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Fore for the Studio Museum in Harlem.
Glenn co-majored in photography and urban studies at Wayne State University, and received a double master’s degree in Modern Art History, Theory and Criticism and Arts Administration and Policy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
