ROCHESTER, MN.- Rochester Art Center announces the appointment of Jovan Speller in a new position created specifically to enhance and expand the Art Center’s art education and curatorial goals.

“I am delighted to welcome Jovan Speller to our professional team” says Shannon Fitzgerald, Executive Director. “She brings a broad range of expertise, experience, and enthusiasm that will enrich our programs in fundamental areas. Speller has a passion for and a far-reaching knowledge of contemporary artistic practice and how it impacts our communities. Jovan comes to Rochester Art Center with an expansive background in art, art education, and curatorial practices. I look forward to the insight and experiences she will bring. Her new ideas and diverse experience will strengthen our art and education programs and expand our role as the premiere museum for contemporary art in our region.”

Speller is an art educator whose creative career has taken many forms: curator, entrepreneur, program developer, grant writer, community leader, and advocate for emerging artists. She was Adult & Public Programs Coordinator at the renowned Studio Museum in Harlem; Project Director for City Arts, Inc., Washington, D.C, Art Program Developer, See Forever Foundation, Maya Angelou Transition Center, Washington, D.C; and nationally, has worked as an independent curator. In 2014, Speller created Artwell, an artist’s residency and wellness retreat on a 119 acre historic farm in Eyota, MN. She joined RAC last summer as an instructor for Total Arts Day Camp.

Speller states: “I look forward to getting to know local emerging artists and working with them on a variety of initiatives. It is thrilling to develop programs that then connect artists with community: family, teens, children, and adults through innovative programming that reflect the dynamic relationship between art and society.”

Speller earned a BFA in photography from Columbia College in Chicago and studied photography and fine arts at Maryland Institute College of Art, in Baltimore.