ROCHESTER, MN.- Rochester Art Center announced Megan Johnston as its new Executive Director.

“We’re very excited to welcome Megan to Rochester Art Center and to our community,” says Larry Guse, RAC Board President. “Her past experience at regional museums will be a great addition to the existing professional staff.”

The extensive search for a new Executive Director for the Art Center was led by Stephen Troutman, Past Board President and a Search Committee comprised of community stakeholders.

Originally from Stillwater, Minnesota, Johnston joins RAC from The Model in Sligo, Ireland, where she has served as Director and Curator. Previously, she worked in Minneapolis, where she was Lecturer at Minneapolis College of Art & Design. For nearly twenty years, Johnston has worked in leading museums and galleries both in Ireland and the United States, including positions at the Walker Arts Center and the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis, as well as the Plains Art Museum in Fargo and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

As a curator and educator, Johnston has curated more than 300 artists’ projects internationally utilizing an innovative socially engaged curatorial practice centering on fundamental questions about art and public engagement. She recently finished her practiced-based PhD at Ulster at the School of Art, Design & the Built Environment at the University of Ulster in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

“Being part of a visionary team to build an international standard arts ecosystem for our communities is what drew me to this position,” says Johnston. “I am thrilled to be appointed to such an outstanding organization and am excited to begin working with colleagues to build RAC into a global leader in contemporary art practice. The strength and vision of local leaders to believe in the possibilities for international standard cultural institutions will propel RAC into a brighter and more ambitious future. ”

Johnston will join Rochester Art Center on October 1.