Jessica Hong to Become Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Toledo Museum of Art

The Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, congratulates Associate Curator of Global Contemporary Art Jessica Hong on her appointment as curator of modern and contemporary art at the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio, as of March 15, 2021.

The Virginia Rice Kelsey 1961s Director John Stomberg notes, "The Hood Museum has benefited greatly from Jessica Hong's tenure at the museum. Her bold acquisitions will remain a lasting testimony to her vision, and our refocused attention to global contemporary art will long reflect her thinking on the subject. The museum wishes Jessica all the best in her next adventure."

Hong served as the Hood Museum's first associate curator of global contemporary art and brought an expansive, intersectional approach to her work, reimagining traditional institutional and curatorial practices and centering collaboration and community. Her first exhibition, New Landscapes: Contemporary Responses to Globalization, addressed the consequences of people's impacts on our physical, social, and cultural landscapes. Her second exhibition, Reconstitution, brought together disparate collection areas to examine and interrogate the site of the colonial institution and included innovative performative as well as participatory programming such as Dell Hamilton's Blues\Blank\Black and Gina Adams's Broken Treaty reading and open letter-cutting session. Hong was a dedicated contributor to public programming while at the museum, including the upcoming virtual program coorganized with the Smart Museum of Art on March 4 titled "All the World's Futures: Global Art and Art History in the Wake of COVID-19." She also joined her museum colleagues in efforts to diversify the collection (in media, narratives, artists, and cultural contexts), reenvision collecting priorities, shape a holistic exhibition schedule, and formulate DEAI initiatives for the institution.
 
Hong says, "Along with augmenting the Hood Museum's global contemporary programming and storied collection, I've had the great privilege of engaging with brilliant and thoughtful students, faculty, colleagues, and community members throughout my time here. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic severely restricted the forms of engagement we've been able to provide, but we have faced these challenges collaboratively, so that the museum continues to be an integral part of Dartmouth's pedagogical and social fabric. This experience and my entire tenure at the Hood Museum have only strengthened my resolve and belief in the expansive possibilities of the arts to launch me into my next endeavor at the Toledo Museum of Art."

Press: Nils Nadeau, Associate Director, External Relations and Operations, can be reached at nils.a.nadeau@dartmouth.edu or (603) 646-2095.