DETROIT, MICH.- The Detroit Institute of Arts has named Katie Pfohl the museum’s new Associate Curator of Contemporary Art. Pfohl will join the DIA on July 18, 2022.

Pfohl has served as the Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) since 2015. During her tenure there, she curated almost 30 exhibitions, acquired or commissioned over 100 works of art by local, national and international artists for NOMA’s collection, worked collaboratively on innovative educational programming and community outreach, and reinstalled the museum’s 20th century and contemporary galleries. Her work seeks to amplify the voices of artists, foster connections between communities, and create space for people to engage with the urgent issues of our time. Recent projects have addressed climate change and environmental justice, the politics of history and memory, and art’s role in healing and recovery. Pfohl completed her Ph.D. in art history at Harvard University in 2014.

At the DIA, Pfohl will play a significant role in the reinstallation of the museum’s contemporary galleries, working in partnership with curatorial colleagues as well as local and national advisors to reimagine the space and the collection in a manner that more effectively supports the DIA’s mission and vision. She will also manage the DIA’s contemporary collection, including research, acquisitions, and documentation. The collection contains over 3,500 paintings, video and installation-based artwork, sculpture, and studio craft objects spanning from the 1950s to the present.

“Collaboration is an integral part of Katie’s approach to curating and will be a critical asset as we reimagine the display of our contemporary collection,” said Jill Shaw, Head of the James Pearson Duffy Department of Modern and Contemporary Art and the Rebecca A. Boylan and Thomas W. Sidlik Curator of European Art, 1850–1970. “She brings a much-needed perspective to our upcoming reinstallation project and will be an important link between the museum and the art community in Detroit and beyond.”