Art Movements offers a weekly roundup of essential updates, appointments, awards, and events in the bustling art world every Thursday afternoon.
Michelle Millar Fisher, formerly the curator of Contemporary Decorative Arts at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, has been appointed chief curator at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City. Fisher is recognized for her advocacy in addressing compensation issues within the art industry, notably through the 2019 Art + Museum Transparency initiative she co-founded at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Her work also extends to exploring design and motherhood.
“Design includes systems and environments, and to function well such ecosystems require trust, care, and transparency,” Fisher shared with Hyperallergic. “I’ve always tried to center this ethos in the way I contribute to teams that I work within, no matter my role. The same will be true at Cooper Hewitt — and I get the sense that approach is not only warmly welcomed but already practiced.” Fisher will replace Matilda McQuaid, who will retire this spring after 24 years of service.
The Getty has awarded $1.8 million in grants to eight institutions as part of its Black Visual Arts Archive initiative, which aims to process and make accessible records related to Black art. Notable recipients include the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, and the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland. Since 2022, this initiative has distributed over $4.5 million to more than 20 museums, libraries, and universities.
In other news, Jamie Blosser has been named the next curator of the Loeb Fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Graham C. Boettcher will become the director and CEO of the Norman Rockwell Museum in Massachusetts, leaving his current position as CEO of the Birmingham Museum of Art in July. Coco Fusco and Jeffrey Gibson are set to speak at the Sam Gilliam Lecture Series at Johns Hopkins University. Claudia Hart received a Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement in Digital Art, and Jennifer Rappaport is now director of Collections & Registration at the Cafesjian Art Trust Museum. Susan Fisher Sterling will retire as director of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in December, and Gōzō Yoshimasu has won the inaugural Serpentine × FLAG Art Foundation Prize.
Artist Nora Turato has installed a striking blue billboard on 18th Street near Manhattan’s High Line, emblazoned with the phrase “GIVE US MOM!!!” in a yellow, playful font. The straightforward message, evoking both humor and urgency, speaks to anyone who has ever reached out to their mother for guidance or support. This work resonates particularly with New Yorkers who may find themselves caught in anxious moments, offering a brief, relatable escape.
