Dear friends,

We have exciting news about the future of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, and I wanted to make sure you were among the first to know. Zoe Kahr has accepted an offer from the Brooks Museum Board of Trustees to be our next Executive Director. She will begin on November 1.

Zoe has one of the most extensive resumes and strongest reputations in the fine art world. Dr. Kahr comes to Memphis from her current position as the Deputy Director for Curatorial and Planning at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), where she led a staff of 80 professionals and oversaw the museum’s artistic programs. During her time at LACMA, Dr. Kahr produced over 300 exhibitions, and developed new museum partnerships in Asia, Latin America, Australia, and the Middle East. She also conceived and launched Local Access, which expands access to LACMA‘s collections through a series of exhibitions touring to museums in Los Angeles County and adjacent areas. 

Dr. Kahr also led DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility) efforts for LACMA through its exhibitions and acquisitions, as well as through the development of programs to attract and retain staff from diverse backgrounds in the museum field. She oversaw the gallery design for LACMA’s 350,000 square-foot David Geffen Galleries, currently under construction, and secured significant funding for the project.

Last year, the Board promised to undertake a professional, thorough, and rigorous process to identify our next Executive Director, and that is exactly what they have done. Our search committee was chaired by Board Treasurer Milton Lovell and included Barbara Hyde, Nathan Bicks, Gloria Boyland, Debi Havner, James Patterson, Mat Parker, Linda Ivy-Rosser, Elliot Perry, Kaywin Feldman, and Paul Young. Their tireless hard work over the last several months deserves our deepest thanks.

The Brooks Museum’s outstanding employees, from our curatorial team to our operations and facilities staff to our marketing and development departments, have been nothing short of amazing during this time. Their professionalism and commitment to excellence made it possible for us to attract a candidate of Zoe’s quality.

From our first meeting with Zoe, it was clear that she was the ideal person for this role: eminently qualified, universally well-regarded among her peers, and excited to lead our museum forward. I cannot wait for you to meet her and join me in welcoming her to our city and our museum.