Lowery Stokes Sims facts for kids

Lowery Stokes Sims, born in 1949, is a famous American art historian and curator. She is known for her deep knowledge of modern and contemporary art. Sims has a special focus on artists from diverse backgrounds. These include African, African American, Latinx, Native, and Asian American artists. Some artists she has studied are Wifredo Lam, Fritz Scholder, Romare Bearden, and Joyce J. Scott.

Sims worked at several important art museums. These include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Museum of Arts and Design. She has also been a guest curator for many exhibitions. She has given talks around the world and written many articles. In 2010, she was featured in the documentary film !Women Art Revolution.

Learning About Art: Lowery Stokes Sims's Education

Lowery Stokes Sims was born in 1949 in Washington, D.C.. She grew up in New York City, in the Bronx and Queens. She went to Bishop Reilly High School, graduating in 1966.

Sims earned her first degree, a B.A. degree in art history, from Queens College, City University of New York. She then received her M.A. degree in art history from Johns Hopkins University. In 1995, she completed her highest degree, a Ph.D. in art history. She earned this from the Graduate School of the City University of New York. Her Ph.D. research was about the artist Wifredo Lam. He was an Afro-Cuban Chinese artist known for his Surrealist art. Her research was later published as a book in 2002.

Lowery Stokes Sims's Career in Art

Lowery Stokes Sims has had a long and important career in the art world. She has worked at some of the most famous museums in the United States.

Working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

From 1972 to 1999, Sims worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Her main goal was to make sure that art by artists of color was shown. She also wanted to include works by white artists who might have been overlooked.

She helped organize many art shows during her time there. Some of these exhibitions featured artists like Ellsworth Kelly and Henry Moore. In 1991, she was the main curator for an exhibition about Stuart Davis. She also helped write the book for that show. Sims also brought the exhibition I Tell My Heart: The Art of Horace Pippin to the Met in 1995.

Sims also organized several traveling exhibitions. These shows featured art from the Met's collection. They included themes like "The Figure in Twentieth Century Art" and "American Still Life Painting." For over ten years, she was also in charge of the annual art installations on the Museum's Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden.

Leading the Studio Museum in Harlem

From 2000 to 2007, Sims was the executive director and then president of the Studio Museum in Harlem. This museum focuses on art by artists of African descent. She also worked as a curator for the museum's permanent collection.

She helped organize important exhibitions there. One show in 2003, Challenge of the Modern, featured African American artists from 1925 to 1945. She also curated a show about Fred Brown in 2003. In 2006, she helped curate Legacies: Contemporary Artists Reflect on Slavery. This exhibition was shown at the New York Historical Society.

Curating at the Museum of Arts and Design

Sims later became the chief curator at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD). She worked there from 2007 until she retired in 2015. At MAD, she helped create several unique exhibitions.

She co-curated "Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary" in 2008. She also worked on "Dead or Alive: Artists Respond to Nature" in 2010. Sims also came up with the idea for "The Global Africa Project" (2010–11). This project explored art, craft, and design from Africa and its global influence. In 2013, she co-curated "Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art, Craft and Design." Her last exhibitions at MAD in 2014 included "Maryland to Murano: Neckpieces and Sculptures by Joyce J. Scott" and "New Territories: Laboratories for Design, Craft and Art in Latin America."

Awards and Recognition

Lowery Stokes Sims has received many awards for her work in art. In 1991, she won the Frank Jewett Mather Award for her art criticism. The College Art Association also gave her their Distinguished Feminist Award in 2018.

She has also received honorary degrees from several colleges and universities. These include the Maryland Institute College of Art (1988) and Brown University (2003). These degrees recognize her important contributions to the art world.

Teaching and Sharing Knowledge

Sims has also shared her knowledge by teaching. She was a visiting professor at Queens College and Hunter College in New York City. She also taught at the University of Minnesota. Currently, she is an adjunct professor at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She is also a distinguished professor at the University of California, Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts.

Guest Curator and Juror Roles

Lowery Stokes Sims has often been invited to be a guest curator. She has also served as a juror for art competitions. She has worked with many institutions, including the National Gallery of Jamaica and The Cleveland Museum of Art. She has also been a juror for places like The Queens Museum and the New Museum of Contemporary Art.

Public Service and Appointments

Sims has also held many important public positions. While at the Studio Museum, she led the Cultural Institutions Group. This group includes museums, gardens, and zoos in New York City. She also served on panels for the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

In 1981, she was chosen to be a member of the Commission on the Status of Women of the City of New York. In 1987, she was appointed to the New York State Council on the Arts. She has also served on the boards of several art organizations. These include Art Table, Inc., and The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation. In 2003 and 2004, she was part of the jury that chose the memorial for the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition.