Ryan N. Dennis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ryan N. Dennis
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Curator Ryan N. Dennis at Black Lunch Table + Project Row Houses Juneteenth Photobooth, 2021.
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| Nationality | American |
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| Known for | Artistic director and chief curator |
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Notable work
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Ryan N. Dennis is an American curator and writer. A curator is someone who chooses and organizes art for museums. She is currently a top art expert at the Contemporary Art Museum Houston (CAMH). She started this job in June 2023.
Before that, she was the main art leader at the Mississippi Museum of Art's Center for Art and Public Exchange (CAPE). She also worked for many years at Project Row Houses in Houston, Texas. Ryan N. Dennis loves to show art by African American artists. She often works on art projects that involve the community.
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Ryan N. Dennis: Early Life and Learning
Ryan N. Dennis was born in Houston, Texas. She went to the University of Houston. In 2007, she earned a degree there. She studied African American studies and art history.
Later, she moved to New York City. In 2011, she earned a master's degree from the Pratt Institute. Her studies focused on managing arts and culture. She also gained experience by interning at the Menil Collection in Houston.
Ryan N. Dennis: Her Art Career
Ryan N. Dennis started her career at the Menil Collection. She worked there as a curatorial assistant from 2007 to 2009. After moving to New York City, she continued to work in the art world.
She was a fellow at The Laundromat Project in 2009. She also helped with public programs at the New Museum. From 2010 to 2012, she managed traveling art shows. She also helped artists who were staying at the Museum for African Art. This museum is now called The Africa Center.
Working at Project Row Houses
In 2012, Ryan Dennis joined Project Row Houses. This place is known for its art and community projects. She started as the Public Art Director and Curator. In 2017, she became the Curator and Programs Director.
During her time there, she helped organize many art shows. These shows are called "Rounds." She organized or co-organized ten of these special exhibitions.
- Round 41: Process and Action: An Exploration of Labor (2015)
- Round 43: Small Business/ Big Change: Economic Perspectives from Artists and Artrepreneurs (2015)
- Round 44: Shattering the Concrete: Artists, Activists, and Instigators (2016)
- Round 45: Local Impact (2016)
- Round 46: Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter at Project Row Houses (2017)
- Round 47: The Act of Doing: Preserving, Revitalizing and Protecting Third Ward (2018)
- Round 48: Beyond Social Practice (2019)
- Round 49: penumbras: sacred geometries (2019)
- Round 50: Race, Health and Motherhood (2019)
Many famous artists showed their work in these Rounds. Some of them include Simone Leigh, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, and Martine Syms.
Awards and New Roles
In 2019, Ryan Dennis was chosen for a special program. It was the annual Fellowship at the Center for Curatorial Leadership. As part of this, she spent a week at the Brooklyn Museum.
Also in 2019, she was chosen to help pick the winner of the Whitney Museum of American Art Bucksbaum Award. This award gives $100,000 to a visual artist. It is one of the biggest art awards.
She was also chosen to co-curate the Texas Biennial in 2021. This is a large art show that highlights art from Texas.
In April 2020, she took on a new important role. She became the Chief Curator and Artistic Director at the Mississippi Museum of Art's Center for Art and Public Exchange (CAPE). This is the largest art museum in Mississippi.
Ryan N. Dennis has also written for several art publications. Her writings have appeared in Prospect.3 Notes for Now and Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts. She also wrote for a book about the artist Autumn Knight.
Other Activities
Ryan N. Dennis also helps out in other ways in the art world.
- She was a judge for the Whitney Museum of American Art Bucksbaum Award in 2019.
- She was part of the jury for The Kenneth Rainin Foundation Open Spaces Program grants in 2019.
- She was a judge for the Houston Artadia Awards in 2017.
