BLOOMINGTON, IN.- The Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University has hired Dr. Amanda Hellman as the inaugural Director of Curatorial Affairs. Amanda earned her PhD in Art History and MBA at Emory University, MA in the History of Art at Williams College, and BA in Art History at Georgetown University. She is currently Curator of African Art at the Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta, Georgia. Hellman also serves as adjunct professor of Art History at Agnes Scott College. She will begin her position at the Eskenazi Museum of Art on February 1, 2022.

Prior to joining the Carlos Museum, Hellman served in a research position at Williams College Museum of Art, and as an intern at Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Contemporary Museum of Art St. Louis, Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, and Oakland Museum of California. Hellman has also taught courses on African art and visual culture at Emory University and Oglethorpe University. She has curated a range of exhibitions and published widely on topics related African art.

As Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Eskenazi Museum, Hellman will oversee the Curatorial, Registrar, Conservation, and Installation departments, providing strategic vision for exhibitions, acquisitions, research, and collections care and presentation. As a member of the museum's senior leadership team, she will collaborate on long-term budgetary and program planning as well as implementation of the museum's five-year strategic plan for creating an authentic culture of diversity, equity, access, and inclusion.

Upon news of her hire, Hellman commented, "The Eskenazi Museum has a bold vision for the future, an ambitious staff, and an eye toward transforming the way we teach in the museum. I am thrilled to be joining the team at this moment of great change for museums all over the world."

David A. Brenneman, Wilma E. Kelley Director of the Eskenazi Museum of Art, said, "We are thrilled to welcome Amanda to the museum's senior leadership team as our inaugural Director of Curatorial Affairs. The coordination of research and exhibition efforts as well as crucial museum-wide collections care will benefit greatly from her wide-ranging experience and business acumen. Amanda's hire will enhance our ability to activate our object study rooms, research centers, and DEAI strategic plan."