NYACK, NY.- Kristin Roeder has been appointed as the Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center’s Program Manager, overseeing the Nighthawks mentorship program for high school students and educational programming. A practicing artist herself with sculptures and assemblages appearing across the country at Westbeth Gallery, Root Division, and Kincaiya, Ms. Roeder has over fifteen years of experience facilitating, developing, and managing museum education programs for such institutions as The Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the New York Botanical Garden. Her emphasis is on designing and delivering inclusive museum programs for school groups, teens, and families, as well as workshops for educators who are curious about how to integrate art into their classrooms.

At the Whitney and MoMA, Ms. Roeder teaches from the work of many artists, including Edward Hopper, and she looks forward to working with young artists and families at the Hopper House as a continuation of Hopper’s legacy. With years of study from the Institute for Inquiry at the Exploratorium behind her, Ms. Roeder imagines her new role to be in cultivating a genuine, reciprocal partnership between the Hopper House and teens in the Nyack area. “I plan to draw on my background in Museum Education to support the Nighthawks as they develop professional skills, assume leadership roles, and facilitate engagement with artwork and historic spaces. I also deeply value the diverse perspectives and talents that the Nighthawks contribute to their work and community. As Program Manager, I look forward to continuing to build out the Nighthawks' role in developing and delivering programming for family audiences and adult visitors, while fostering an environment of inclusivity, inquiry, creative rigor, and reflection,” says Ms. Roeder.

In addition to welcoming Ms. Roeder to the Edward Hopper House, the birthplace and family home of Edward Hopper, Juliana Roth, a writer who was born and raised in Nyack, was hired to serve as the museum’s Chief Storyteller. This is a new position for the Edward Hopper House, and Roth’s plans for the role are to develop a specific lens for the story of Edward Hopper and his family with a focus on community myths and legends surrounding the family’s legacy. “As a writer, I’m drawn to how easily perspectives on a subject shift depending on who’s telling a story, ways to creatively engage with archives and oral histories to get closer to the complexity of a person, and the role communities serve in preserving stories. The Edward Hopper House has the unique position of having access to artifacts from Edward Hopper’s early life and his family, which allows us more intimacy with him as both an artist and a young man. My hope is that by valuing the early stages of his development and looking at what influenced him in childhood and into young adulthood, we might offer a narrative of discovery that will inspire the young artists who frequent the museum’s space.”

Ms. Roth holds an MFA in Creative Writing and taught undergraduate writing and creative writing for years at Rutgers University - Camden where she founded a film series highlighting film and social change. A fellow with the Community of Writers, Orion Magazine, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, she most recently created a web series on the Title IX process at universities and assisted with archival of Remember 2019’s story bank, which documents over 100 stories from the Black community in the Arkansas Delta. “I’m also quite interested in learning more about Edward Hopper’s sister Marion who lived in the house until her death in 1965 and how she related to his trajectory.”

Edward Hopper could see the Hudson River and the Sleepy Hollow lighthouse from his bedroom window throughout his childhood, and because of his height built his own easel which stands near that same window today. These special pieces left behind by Hopper draw visitors to 82 N. Broadway, along with the museum’s diverse programming, outdoor movie screenings, and jazz performances. Hopper’s early works are on display at the center alongside rotating exhibits highlighting contemporary artists.

Dr. Jennifer Patton, Executive Director of Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center, says of the incoming staff members, "We have never been staffed with such a professional and passionate group of devoted museum practitioners, and EHH will continue to strengthen its role within the community and historic artists’ homes and studio network."