The Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester announces the appointment of Timothy Peterson as the inaugural Ann and Irving Norry Curator of Contemporary Art, effective September 16, 2024. Peterson will manage MAG’s contemporary art collection, expand its holdings through acquisitions, organize exhibitions, and author exhibition publications. He will be MAG’s first-ever curator of contemporary art, serving in an endowed position created by Deborah Ronnen in honor of her parents, Ann and Irving Norry, lifelong collectors and advocates for visual arts, as well as important community philanthropists and civic leaders.
“This is an exciting moment for MAG as we inaugurate a new position that will ensure our relevance into the future,” said Sarah Jesse, MAG’s Mary W. and Donald R. Clark Director. “We are grateful for this transformational gift to endow this position in memory of Ann and Irving Norry. With his deep knowledge of contemporary art and extensive curatorial experience, Peterson is uniquely positioned to fulfill the museum’s ambition for the role, introducing new audiences to the art of our time and connecting the work of living artists to art history.”
Peterson comes to MAG most recently from the Center for Maine Contemporary Art where he served as Executive Director and Chief Curator. Prior to this, he was Director and Curator of Franklin Art Works in Minneapolis and Chief Curator for the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah.
He is noted for premiering major solo exhibitions by fast-rising and established artists, including Reggie Burrows Hodges, Ryan Adams, Alison Hildreth, Jeane Cohen, Yashua Klos, Ian Trask, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Paula Mpagi Sepuya, Ghada Amer, Rob Fischer, Christian Marclay, Kehinde Wiley, Uta Barth, Alejandro Cesarco, Jacob Kassay and Shinique Smith.
“I am honored to be joining the staff of the Memorial Art Gallery as the new Ann and Irving Norry Curator of Contemporary Art. I am excited to contribute to the ongoing growth of the museum’s contemporary art collection and exhibitions and to connect local and global artists and their artworks to communities within the university, across Rochester, and at large,” said Peterson.
MAG’s contemporary art collection has grown significantly over the past decade, with acquisitions by such artists as Nick Cave, George Condo, Monir Farmanfarmaian, Rashid Johnson, Hung Liu, Cannupa Hanksa Luger, Grayson Perry, Judith Schaechter, and Mickalene Thomas. In 2016, MAG began to build a collection of time-based media, including commissioned work by Isaac Julien and Javier Tellez, and acquisitions of videos by artists including Charles Atlas, Sky Hopinka, Nam June Paik, Sondra Perry, and Bill Viola.