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Curators
GAIL STAVITSKY, PH.D.
Chief Curator
Title
something has to be last
Bio
Dr. Stavitsky has worked at the Montclair Art Museum (MAM) since 1994. She oversees the Curatorial Department and stewards the
Recent exhibitions curated by Dr. Stavitsky include
Previously, Dr. Stavitsky served as curator for exhibitions at the Carnegie Museum of Art, The New York Public Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Grey Art Gallery at New York University. She has written extensively for numerous publications and holds a Ph.D. in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts–New York University.
LAURA J. ALLEN
Curator of Native American Art
Title
something has to be last
Bio
Laura J. Allen leads research, stewardship, exhibition, and community relationships for MAM’s historical and contemporary
In 2020, Allen received her M.A. in Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture from Bard Graduate Center with a focus on critical and collaborative museological practice. Her research and publications examine visual and material culture of the Northwest Coast as well as Indigenous and intercultural dress, fashion, and textile history in the Americas. Themes in her work include Indigenous agency and resurgence; colonialism; materiality and material analysis; and the collection, circulation, and display of cultural objects and designs.
Previously, Allen served as the Curatorial Associate in the American Museum of Natural History’s Division of Anthropology for the reinstallation of its Northwest Coast Hall. Allen has also supported the University of Alaska Museum of the North, the State Museum of Pennsylvania, the Penn Museum, Columbia University, and other organizations in research and writing, exhibition and media development, and community engagement for projects on the Indigenous Americas. Her work has received awards from the Textile Society of America and Bard Graduate Center, among others.
something has to be last