WASHINGTON, DC.- The National Gallery of Art announced today the appointment of four new staff to positions that will support the National Gallery's mission to serve the nation. These positions advance the National Gallery's strategic priorities to make the museum more visitor-focused, inclusive, and equitable, as well as to provide deeper connections to the museum's content through digital access to its collections, exhibitions, programs, and research.

Mikka Gee Conway began her tenure as Chief Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Officer and EEO Director in September 2020. As part of the museum leadership team, Conway reports to Feldman and leads diversity, equity, and inclusion work across the National Gallery, as well as oversees the institution's EEO office. Conway comes to the National Gallery from the J. Paul Getty Trust, where she served as associate general counsel since 2014 and was a founding member of the Getty's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council. She previously held curatorial, project management, and leadership positions at a variety of arts organizations, and she practiced federal tax law at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan (now Eversheds Sutherland). Conway holds an AB in art history from Stanford University in California, an MA in art history from Williams College in Massachusetts, and a JD from the University of Minnesota Law School.




Kanitra Fletcher will join the National Gallery as Associate Curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic Art on February 1. As part of the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, Fletcher will be responsible for guiding the museum's collection of African American art. Fletcher comes to Washington from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, where she rose from the rank of curatorial assistant to associate curator. While in Houston, she oversaw the presentation of such major traveling exhibitions as Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power and Odyssey: Jack Whitten Sculpture, and has recently worked on Afro-Atlantic Histories, an exhibition organized by the Museu de Arte São Paulo which will be seen at MFA, Houston and the National Gallery in 2021-22. Fletcher has published essays in books and journals and presented research at international conferences on Afro-diasporic art as it relates to politics of the body, gender, and labor as well as aesthetics and the avant-garde. Fletcher's previous museum experience includes the Bronx Museum of the Arts, The Museum of Modern Art, and the New Museum of Contemporary Art. Since 2013, she has curated an ongoing video art series for Landmarks public art program at the University of Texas at Austin. Fletcher received a B.A. in English Literature from Rutgers University-New Brunswick, an M.A. in Latin American Studies with concentrations in Art History and Brazilian Studies from University of Texas at Austin, and a PhD in History of Art from Cornell University.

Nick Sharp, the National Gallery's new Chief Digital Officer, assumed his position leading digital experience in September 2020. As Chief Digital Officer, Sharp is the senior strategy leader for public-facing digital products and experiences, and he is responsible for the museum's website, mobile apps, in-gallery interactives, and imaging, video, and audio production. Prior to arriving in Washington, Sharp served as the Director of Digital, Data, and Insight at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, where he built the Academy's digital offerings from the ground up, delivering exponential growth in users, engagement, and income. Prior to the Royal Academy, Sharp helped launch the UK government's single platform, gov.uk, and delivered the UK's digital platforms for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. Sharp received a BA in English from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

Eric Bruce began as Head of Visitor Experience and Evaluation in August 2020. In this new role for the museum, Bruce is responsible for the integration of visitor-centered thinking into every aspect of the National Gallery and works as a strategic partner with multiple departments to evaluate and advocate for audience engagement, both onsite and online. Bruce leads efforts to deepen and enhance the visitor experience before, during, and after visits, and he also helps to develop long-term relationships with visitors. He joined the National Gallery from the Minneapolis Institute of Art, where he oversaw visitor experience operations, research, and audience-facing initiatives, with a focus on visitor and staff support systems, building brand loyalty, customer experience (CX) design thinking, customer relationship management (CRM) system development, communications strategy, public amenities, and audience-centered work culture. He is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) and holds a BA in music from Simpson College in Iowa and an MA in arts and cultural management from Saint Mary's University in Minnesota.