NEW YORK, NY.- The Museum of Modern Art announces the appointment of Amanda Hicks as its Director of Communications and Public Affairs. She has joined the Museum to lead and oversee the execution of a comprehensive communications plan to deepen and expand MoMA’s connections with visitors from New York and around the world and to create and share new stories about art, artists, exhibitions, scholarship, and programming with global audiences.

As a member of the Museum’s external affairs team, Ms. Hicks will collaborate closely with Director of Marketing and Creative Strategy Rob Baker and Director of Editorial and Content Strategy Leah Dickerman on an integrated strategy that advances the Museum’s mission and curatorial goals and shapes an inclusive, innovative approach to audience engagement.

Ms. Hicks comes to MoMA as an established communications professional with more than 15 years of experience in arts, cultural, and mainstream media, most recently as Executive Director of Communications at the Art Institute of Chicago. At the Art Institute, she collaborated across the museum to lead, develop, and implement the strategy for telling the stories of institutional legacy and vision, art and acquisitions, exhibitions, and programs through the many voices of its community of artists, curators and staff, and philanthropic supporters. She created and executed innovative press campaigns to drive attendance—more than 1.5 million visitors annually—and to build local, national, and international reputation. Hicks previously served in the US Department of State’s Foreign Service as a Public Diplomacy Officer, leading strategic communications, cultural affairs, and press operations in complex environments during assignments including the Bureau of International Organization Affairs (working with UNESCO); US Embassy Doha, Qatar; Regional Command Southwest, Helmand, Afghanistan; US Consulate General Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; US Embassy Bridgetown, Barbados; and others.

Hicks shared, “It’s an honor to join MoMA and a privilege to help tell the stories of extraordinary art and artists that inspire, provoke, and connect with millions of people inside and outside the Museum. This moment at MoMA—with the visionary renovation and expansion underway—sparks new and exciting conversations about its unparalleled collection, exhibitions, and programs. I’m thrilled to collaborate with colleagues to shape what that can mean to the experience of the Museum for visitors now, and in the future.”