Jennifer Russell to Rejoin Metropolitan Museum As Associate Director for Exhibitions
(New York, March 10, 2010)—Thomas P. Campbell, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, announced today that Jennifer Russell will return to the Museum as Associate Director for Exhibitions. She is currently Senior Deputy Director of Exhibitions, Collections, and Programs at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. She had worked at the Metropolitan Museum as Associate Director for Administration from 1993 to 1996, and will rejoin the Museum in her new role effective April 26. She was formally elected at the March 9 meeting of the Board of Trustees.
"I am delighted to welcome back a colleague with extensive experience in the New York museum community and in exhibition planning on a local as well as national and international scale," commented Thomas P. Campbell, Director of the Metropolitan Museum. "She brings significant managerial experience, sound sense, and wide-ranging contacts, all of which are essential to sustaining and developing the encyclopedic breadth, scale, and quality of the Met's unique and world-renowned exhibition program. Her familiarity with the Museum's structure and staff—from her previous work here during the tenure of my predecessor, Philippe de Montebello—will be a great advantage as well. For more than 40 years, the Met has been the leading forum for ground-breaking loan exhibitions and stimulating installations highlighting aspects of its vast collections. This program, with all of its depth, scope, and vitality, will remain central to the Museum's activities and mission, and I look forward to working on it with Jennifer over the years ahead."
Jennifer Russell began her museum career in 1974 at the Whitney Museum of American Art as a curatorial assistant. She served as an Assistant Curator from 1976 to 1978; as Special Assistant to the Director for Curatorial Affairs from 1978 to 1980; and as Assistant Director from 1980 to 1986. She worked as Associate Director and Secretary from 1986 to 1990, returning to that post in 1992 after a year's service, from 1990 to 1991, as the Whitney's Acting Director. She was also Deputy Director for Internal Affairs and Secretary to the Board of Trustees until her departure from the Whitney in 1993. Over her years there, she organized a number of exhibitions, including American Art, 1900-1940, in 1976; American Folk Painters of Three Centuries in 1980; Celebrating Calder in 1991; and Selections from the Permanent Collection, 1938-1946 in 1993.
As Associate Director for Administration at The Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1993 to 1996, she was the administrator for all departments reporting to the Director, including curatorial, conservation, publications, and the libraries. During this time, she worked with curatorial and many other departments across the Museum to coordinate a wide range of projects, including construction and space planning for major gallery renovations and other capital project, and the computerization of collection data.
Since 1996, she has worked at The Museum of Modern Art, first as Deputy Director for Exhibitions and Collections Support, and since 2005 as Senior Deputy Director for Exhibitions, Collections, and Programs. She currently oversees MoMA's exhibition program of approximately 30 exhibitions per year, develops collaborations with other museums, and works with museums both in the United States and abroad on jointly organized exhibitions. She was a member of the staff planning and design team for the 2004 expansion of the museum and oversaw the move of the collection to and from MoMA Queens. She also planned the schedule for reinstallation in the new building in Manhattan.
At the Metropolitan, Jennifer Russell succeeds Mahrukh Tarapor, who served in the position for more than 15 years.
