Anne Collins Smith, C’96, was appointed chief curator at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA). Smith is the first Black person to lead NOMA’s curatorial department. Smith leads NOMA’s collection and exhibition initiatives and manages the institution’s team of curators, conservators, and collections staff. She is responsible for the museum’s modern and contemporary art presentations, adding significant expertise in African American art.
“This appointment is the opportunity of a lifetime and a testimony to perseverance and my dedication to curatorial practice. I look forward to advancing NOMA’s mission and shepherding exemplary art experiences with our dynamic team of curators,” Smith said in a release. “The art historian Mary Ann Calo speaks of how curators serve as interlocutors between art, artists, and the community. This principle continues to guide me through my career.”
As chief curator since September 2024, Smith will also spearhead forward-thinking approaches to NOMA’s collection and exhibitions aligned with best practices in the field and responsive to the museum’s specific needs. Upcoming projects include planning for the reinstallation of parts of the permanent collection and serving as the institutional curator for upcoming retrospectives by artists Hayward Oubre and Willie Birch.
“The museum’s permanent collection of art spanning 5,000 years is at the center of everything we do,” said Susan M. Taylor, The Montine McDaniel Freeman Director of NOMA. “Anne Collins Smith is an accomplished curator, art historian, and museum leader, and we are thrilled to welcome her to NOMA in this crucial position. Her experience in institutions across the country and her perspective as a native New Orleanian make her an important addition to our staff.”
Smith was most recently director of the Xavier University of Louisiana Art Gallery. She spent almost two decades as curator of collections at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art from 2003 - 2022. She was also a Andrew W. Mellon curatorial fellow at the Davis Museum and Cultural Center at Wellesley College, and Romare Bearden Fellow at the Saint Louis Art Museum. In 2021, Smith was selected for a prestigious Center for Curatorial Leadership fellowship. She holds an masters in visual arts administration from New York University and a bachelors degree from Spelman College.
“Anne has always been ahead of the curve in every way: as a storyteller, in acquisitions, and as a museum educator. When I first arrived at Spelman in 2019, it was she who welcomed me and made valuable and critical connections between the program. She paved the way for students across Spelman in every discipline to feel welcomed and fascinated by the power of object-based learning," said Cheryl Finley, director of the Atlanta University Center Art History and Curatorial Collective. "I imagine in her new role as the first African American and Spelman alumna curator at the New Orleans Museum of Art, Anne’s impact will be felt far and wide, touching students, educators and community members as well as artists and the city’s signature art events, such as the Prospect Triennial of Contemporary Art. It is my hope that her new role will signal future opportunities to collaborate with Spelman!"
New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), the city’s oldest fine arts institution, opened on December 16, 1911, with only nine works of art. Today, the museum hosts an impressive permanent collection of nearly 50,000 artworks. The collection, noted for its extraordinary strengths in French and American art, photography, glass, and African and Japanese works, continues to expand and grow, making NOMA one of the top art museums in the South.