Academy Art Museum appoints Brian J. Lang as Director of Curatorial Affairs
Lang joins AAM following more than a decade of service as Chief Curator and Windgate Foundation Curator of Contemporary Craft at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AMFA), where he played a pivotal leadership role in the museum’s ł100 million campus renovation and expansion.
EASTON, MD.—
The Academy Art Museum announced the appointment of Brian J. Lang as Director of Curatorial Affairs, marking a transformative new chapter for the institution as it advances toward construction of the Freeman Annex & Hormel Research Center—a state-of-the-art facility for collections care, research, and scholarship.
Lang joins AAM following more than a decade of service as Chief Curator and Windgate Foundation Curator of Contemporary Craft at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AMFA), where he played a pivotal leadership role in the museum’s ł100 million campus renovation and expansion. Collaborating directly with internationally acclaimed firms Studio Gang and SCAPE, Lang helped realize one of the most celebrated museum redevelopments in the nation—hailed by Forbes as “America’s most inviting art museum.” Prior to AMFA, Brian was Curator of Decorative Arts at the Columbia Museum of Art in South Carolina, and served as Museum Curator at Dumbarton House in Washington, D.C.
“Brian brings a powerful blend of curatorial depth, capital project experience, and leadership acumen,” said Charlotte Potter Kasic, Museum Director. “He understands how to build not just exhibitions but institutions. As we move into the next phase of AAM’s evolution, his arrival completes the three-person senior leadership team in curatorial affairs, education, and direction—united in advancing excellence, relevance, and access as the Museum enters a new era of scholarship and programming.”
Lang will head a newly expanded curatorial team, which includes Manager of Exhibitions, Skye Monahan and Collections Manager & Registrar, Bianca Scialabba. Together, this team will deepen the Museum’s scholarship and develop exhibitions that honor AAM’s origin as an academy—projects that are regionally specific, intellectually rigorous, and artistically excellent.
Throughout his distinguished 30-year career, Lang has demonstrated a rare combination of curatorial excellence, strategic vision, and organizational leadership. At AMFA, he curated or oversaw more than 80 exhibitions and collection installations, secured over ł1.5 million annually in curatorial funding, and cultivated gifts and grants exceeding ł170 million in support of art and infrastructure. He also stewarded major acquisitions, including a ł1 million endowment from the Windgate Foundation for the purchase of contemporary craft and living artists, and the transformational donation of 500 works from the Enamel Arts Foundation, which positioned AMFA as a premier repository for enamel art in the United States.
“I am honored to join the Academy Art Museum at such an exciting moment in its evolution,” Lang said. “The Museum’s commitment to artistic excellence and community engagement mirrors my own professional values. I look forward to collaborating with the talented staff and community partners to continue presenting exhibitions and programs that reflect the diversity and vitality of the region and the larger art world.”
Lang’s arrival at AAM comes at a defining moment. He will lead the Freeman Annex & Hormel Research Center project, a cornerstone of the Museum’s vision to protect and activate its growing collection. In tandem with this facility's expansion, he will set the exhibition schedule and oversee a comprehensive review of AAM’s 1,700+ works of art—ensuring that each object is properly cataloged, conserved, and interpreted for generations to come.
Lang succeeds Dr. Lee Glazer, now Senior Director, Historic Preservation and Collections, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). Dr. Glazer’s tenure set a high bar with landmark exhibitions including Bugatti: Reaching for Perfection and this fall’s Rauschenberg 100: New Connections.
“Lee positioned the Museum for success,” said Christine Martin, Board Chair. “Brian brings the expertise and experience to build upon that foundation making our collection more visible, our exhibitions more ambitious and deepening our scholarship.”
Lang holds an M.A. in Art History and Museum Studies from the University of Denver and a B.A. in Anthropology and Spanish from Beloit College. His curatorial collaborations have included projects with the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the National Gallery of Art. Lang is also the author of numerous books, exhibition catalogues, and articles on topics ranging from American furniture design to photography of the Black South to Chinese porcelain.
