LOS ANGELES, CA.- The Hammer Museum at UCLA today announced two key appointments to its leadership team. Michael Wellen will take on the role of Chief Curator for the museum; and Regan Pro will assume the newly created role of Chief of Learning, Engagement, and Research.

Reporting to museum director Zoë Ryan, Wellen and Pro join a leadership team as primary drivers of the museum’s program alongside Naoko Takahatake, Director and Chief Curator of the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, who has been with the Hammer since 2023.

Michael Wellen is currently Senior Curator of International Art at Tate Modern, where he has worked since 2016. Wellen has organized critically acclaimed exhibitions at Tate Modern, including Philip Guston (2023), Lubiana Himid (2021), and Takis (2019, co-curated with Guy Brett). He is currently finalizing an exhibition on Ana Mendieta, slated to open at Tate Modern in July 2026. As Chief Curator at the Hammer, Wellen will lead the contemporary exhibitions and collections programs, Hammer publications, and the museum’s registrar and preparator teams.

A seasoned arts leader and educator, Regan Pro was most recently the inaugural Deputy Director of Public Programs & Social Impact at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Prior to that, she was the Kayla Skinner Deputy Director of Education & Public Engagement at the Seattle Art Museum, where she worked for more than a decade. In both roles she developed key community partnerships, learning initiatives, and inclusive experiences. At the Hammer, Pro will take on a newly created position leading the strategic vision for the museum’s acclaimed public programs and community partnerships, as well as K-12, family, and university initiatives.

Hammer Director Zoë Ryan said, “I am delighted to welcome Michael and Regan, two recognized leaders in the field, to the Hammer. Their deep commitment to artists and audiences, as well as to experimentation, scholarship, and learning, will have a tremendous impact on the museum and the communities we serve. Michael possesses a reverence for and knowledge of the Los Angeles artist community paired with an international perspective, which will fuel an expansive approach to our exhibitions, collections, and research. Regan brings a commitment to building deep and inclusive relationships with communities through dynamic collaborations and programs that will support and strengthen our existing program and deepen our impact with audiences.”

Wellen will officially join the Hammer starting April 6. Pro will begin March 2.