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Crystal Bridges Names New Curators

3 min read

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art on Monday announced the promotion of two staff members to curator and the hiring of a third curator.

Manuela Well-Off-Man and Chad Alligood, assistant curators at the Bentonville museum, have been promoted, and Mindy Besaw, curator of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s Whitney Western Art Museum in Cody, Wyoming, will join the museum in the fall.

“Manuela and Chad have played key roles in the development of the museum’s programs and exhibitions, and Mindy brings an impressive career of curatorial accomplishments,” Crystal Bridges Executive Director Rod Bigelow said in a news release.

“Together, the team will work toward the museum’s ongoing goal of making art accessible to all, while building on the positive momentum of the upcoming State of the Art exhibition. With the diverse perspectives and collective academic credentials, our curatorial team is uniquely positioned to expand the impact of Crystal Bridges through outstanding collection development and exhibitions.” 

The curatorial team will work with the directors of the museum’s art and education branches: Niki Stewart, director of education and exhibitions; Catherine Petersen, director of the library; and Elizabeth Weinman, registrar. All will be operating under Executive Director Rod Bigelow and President Don Bacigalupi.

Crystal Bridges is still looking for a director of curatorial, which will be a key figure at the museum.

Well-Off-Man joined the museum as assistant curator in 2009. Before coming to Crystal Bridges, she was curator of art at the Montana Museum of Art & Culture at the University of Montana in Missoula.

Well-Off-Man has a doctoral degree in art history from Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, a master’s degree in art history from the University of Cologne and a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of Heidelberg.

Alligood joined Crystal Bridges as assistant curator in 2013. Working with Bacigalupi, Alligood curated “State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now,” which opens at the museum on Sept. 13.

Alligood came to Crystal Bridges from Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he worked as the Jeanne and Ralph Graham Collections Fellow. Alligood completed his doctoral coursework at City University of New York and earned his master’s degree in art history from the University of Georgia and his bachelor’s degree in history of art and architecture from Harvard University. 

Besaw, now at the Whitney Western Art Museum, will come to Crystal Bridges full time in January. At the Whitney Western Art Museum, Besaw led the reinstallation of the Whitney for its 50th anniversary.

Before joining the Whitney Western Art Museum, she was at the Denver Art Museum. Besaw earned her master’s degree in art history at the University of Denver, where she focused on museum studies, and her bachelor’s degree in art history at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. Besaw is working on a doctorate in American art history from the University of Kansas. She’ll join the Crystal Bridges curatorial team in September part time while she completes her dissertation and will go full time in January. 

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