Executive Director, Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI
2015–Present

Cranbrook Art Museum presents modern and contemporary art, architecture, design, and craft. Founded in 1927, it is one of the first museums of contemporary art in the United States. The museum presents approximately 8 to 10 exhibitions each year and houses a collection of approximately 7,000 objects in a publicly accessible collections storage building primarily dedicated to the achievements of artists associated with Cranbrook and those who have lived and worked in the Detroit area.

Cranbrook Art Museum is part of Cranbrook Educational Community, a 319-acre bucolic, historic, landmark-designated campus and features a unique collection of schools and museums dedicated to excellence in studying and presenting the latest developments in the arts and sciences.

Since 2015, the museum vastly expanded its vision and mission to forge connections with partners in the City of Detroit and other cities such as Flint and Dearborn to co-create, co-organize, and co-present public art installations, performances, and screenings. At the same time, the museum established new educational partnerships on campus and off-campus in the nearby cities of Pontiac and Detroit that bring art experiences to the classroom and students to Cranbrook. We created a new Art Lab, a hands-on making space at the museum, as well as art-making activity kits distributed to children during the COVID-19 pandemic, for both remote and hybrid learning scenarios.

Major growth in the museum's audience and programming includes a series of annual engagements in the city of Detroit taking the form of public art projects ranging from a film created by Hank Willis Thomas from short videos made by citizens in the cities of Detroit, Flint, and Dearborn and a free, temporary skate park in downtown Detroit designed by artist Ryan McGinness and skateboard legend Tony Hawk to a series of public performances by artist Nick Cave and The Healing Memorial by artist Sonya Clark commemorating losses suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Cranbrook Art Museum designed by Eliel Saarinen opened in 1942 and underwent a complete restoration in 2011. The museum is part of the Cranbrook Educational Community and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Healing Memorial (2020–2021) is a collaboration between artist Sonya Clark, Cranbrook Art Museum, the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, the City of Detroit, and Huntington Place. Composed of thousands of amulets or pouches containing a written message commemorating losses suffered during the coronavirus pandemic made by Detroit area citizens.

Hank Willis Thomas and the Cause Collective reprised their inflatable video recording unit, the Truth Booth, which traveled to communities in Detroit, Flint, and Dearborn recording citizen testimonials. The resulting videos were edited into a film that was screened in each city and a sixty-foot-long video installation in the galleries. Launched in 2016, the project became a nation-wide initiative. Curated by Laura Mott.

Artist Nick Cave donning one of his Soundsuits in Detroit as part of his exhibition and performance series, Nick Cave: Here Hear (2015). Curated by Laura Mott.

Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk performs at the opening of Wayfinding (2017), a temporary skate park in downtown Detroit. The park was designed by Hawk and artist Ryan McGinness. Produced in collaboration with Library Street Collective. Curated by Laura Mott.

Snarkitecture's The Beach (2019), featuring thousands of plastic white balls in lieu of water, was a free, public participatory art project in downtown Detroit. Co-presented with Library Street Collective.

Executive Director, Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI 2015–Present

Executive Director, Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI
2015–Present