NEW ORLEANS, LA.- The New Orleans Museum of Art welcomes Laura Ochoa Rincon as the Decorative Arts Trust Curatorial Fellow. Beginning this month, the two-year position is funded by a significant grant from the Decorative Arts Trust to support an emerging curator working with NOMA’s esteemed decorative arts and growing design collection, focusing specifically in the area of glass.

“Championing emerging voices within our curatorial team is an important part of our mission, and we are grateful to the Decorative Arts Trust for supporting this work,” said Susan M. Taylor, Montine McDaniel Freeman Director of NOMA. “Laura brings experience working in a variety of important institutions, and we are excited to see how her career will continue to grow during her fellowship at NOMA.”

Ochoa Rincon comes to NOMA following extensive internship experiences at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, the White House Historical Association, and the New York Historical Society. Her research interests center around the intersection of foodways, race, class, and immigration—and the relationship between material culture and life in the Americas. Ochoa Rincon holds a master’s degree from the University of Delaware’s renowned Winterthur Program in American Material Culture and a BA from New York University.

“I am thrilled to join NOMA’s fantastic team and develop innovative ways to tell narratives that might otherwise be forgotten or go unnoticed within the museum field,” said Ochoa Rincon. “With an emphasis on interpretation and community engagement, this fellowship offers a unique opportunity to think closely about how objects can broaden our understanding of history.”

Under the leadership of and in collaboration with NOMA’s RosaMary Curator for Decorative Arts and Design Mel Buchanan, Ochoa Rincon will help develop an exhibition and collection catalogue for NOMA’s world glass holdings. She will also work to expand the museum’s permanent collection, develop interpretive research, engage community input, develop museum exhibitions, and create digital interpretations of the collection through NOMA’s ongoing partnership with Google Arts & Culture.

“NOMA’s world-renowned collection of glass is an important part of our decorative arts holdings,” said Buchanan. “I am excited to welcome Laura’s fresh perspective on these works through a collaboratively curated major exhibition and exciting educational programs.”