Curated Conversations

From snoozing in the upper berth of a semi to exploring Venetian canals in a vaporetto, serving as an art courier has given Blanton staff a range of adventures to recount. Go behind the scenes with Claire Howard, Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, and Lisa Dirks, Senior Registrar, as they share their experiences escorting objects from the museum’s collection and traveling exhibitions around the world.

Stay refreshed for the event with our cocktail/mocktail suggestion for the week!

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About our Speakers

Claire Howard is Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Blanton Museum of Art. Her exhibitions at the Blanton include ’Ideas in Sensuous Form: The International Symbolist Movement,’ ’Lily Cox-Richard: She-Wolf + Lower Figs,’ and ’Joiri Minaya: Labadee.’ Claire came to the Blanton from the Menil Collection, where she was the 2016-2017 Vivian L. Smith Foundation Fellow. She previously worked at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Fabric Workshop and Museum, and interned at Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and Wellesley College’s Davis Museum. Claire is a PhD candidate in art history at The University of Texas at Austin, writing her dissertation on the Surrealist movement and its cultural context in the 1950s and 60s. She earned an MA from The University of Texas at Austin and a BA from Wellesley College. She is a native of Philadelphia.

Lisa Dirks joined the Blanton in 2015, bringing wide-ranging arts administration experience — registrar, traveling exhibition coordinator, publication coordinator, graphic designer, and gallery assistant — from institutions such as the Austin Museum of Art, International Center of Photography, Kraushaar Galleries, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. As Senior Registrar, Lisa is primarily responsible for our temporary exhibitions, including exhibitions touring under the auspices of other museums, as well as Blanton-curated exhibitions that travel both nationally and internationally. She works closely with the Blanton collections/exhibitions and curatorial teams, as well as private lenders, lending institutions, shippers and insurance agents to coordinate logistics, secure loans, and also act as courier when our exhibitions travel. Her aim is to make certain that the art in our care is properly maintained and secure, whether it is on view at the Blanton or in transit from venue to venue. Lisa is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin.