Anita Bateman named Associate Curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Anita Bateman joined the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in October and is the museum’s newly appointed Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Her role will encompass exhibitions, collections, and programming at the MFAH.

In conjunction with Alison de Lima Greene, The Isabel Brown Wilson Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Dr. Bateman will work on exhibitions, acquisitions, and the display of the permanent collection, with a special focus on work by African American artists. She will also contribute to defining and expanding long-term collection goals.

Dr. Bateman earned a B.A. cum laude in art history from Williams College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in art history and visual culture from Duke University.

Her curatorial projects, teaching, and writing have focused on modern and contemporary African art and art of the African diaspora. Most recently, she curated Black Flyyy and Defying the Shadow, two exhibitions at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum in Providence, and Roots & Roads, an exhibition of contemporary art centering Black hair culture, at Franklin Street Works in Stamford.

“I am delighted to welcome Anita Bateman to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston,” said Gary Tinterow, director of the MFAH, in a statement. “Dr. Bateman’s groundbreaking work on East African photography; strong background with African-American art and artists; and teaching experience in the museum environment will all enhance the Museum’s efforts to further our longstanding commitment to the work of African American artists and artists of the African diaspora.”