NEW ORLEANS, LA.- The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) announced the appointment of Anne Collins Smith as Chief Curator.

In an important role for the museum, Smith leads NOMA’s collection and exhibition initiatives and manages the institution’s team of curators, conservators, and collections staff. Smith is responsible for the museum’s presentations of modern and contemporary art adding significant expertise in African American art.

“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 began the position in September 2024. As Chief Curator, Smith will spearhead forward-thinking approaches to NOMA’s collection and exhibitions that are both 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.

Smith was most recently director of the Xavier University of Louisiana Art Gallery. She has held positions including Curator of Collections at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art in Atlanta, 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. Smith holds an MA in visual arts administration from New York University and a BA from Spelman College.

“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,” said Smith. “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.”

Smith’s professional interests include arts and the economy, audience development, the evolving role of the curator, and artistic and cultural practices across the African diaspora. She has worked on exhibitions with important figures in contemporary art including Howardena Pindell and Maren Hassinger and last year organized Lighting the Path: A Testament to the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, which looked at the history of the religious order that helped found Xavier University and many other institutions.

With Smith’s appointment, Lisa Rotondo-McCord—formerly Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs—has taken on the new position of Deputy Director at NOMA. In this role, Rotondo-McCord will focus on larger institutional projects and continue to serve as Curator of Asian Art.