Vanessa Sage and Joshua Johnson have been appointed co-senior curators of the Figge Art Museum, the downtown Davenport museum said in a Wednesday, Jan. 17, news release.
In their new roles – which they assumed on Dec. 7, 2023 – the release said these two museum leaders bring a “wealth of expertise and passion for the arts that will shape and enhance the museum’s exhibition programming and collections.”
Figge Executive Director & CEO Michelle Hargrave said: “Vanessa and Josh have been a part of the art museum’s curatorial team for nearly a decade in different roles. Their years of experience, expertise and knowledge have prepared them to lead the museum’s efforts to bring in exhibitions and acquisitions that contribute to the vibrant cultural landscape of the Quad Cities.”
As co-senior curators, the pair will work collaboratively to develop a dynamic, diverse exhibition calendar that showcases a variety of artwork from artists of all backgrounds and mediums, the release said.
Ms. Sage earned her bachelor’s degree in art history and Italian from the University of Iowa and her master’s degree in museum studies from Western Illinois University-Quad Cities.
Museum roots deep
She grew up a few blocks from the Davenport Museum of Art and fondly remembers visiting the museum as a child, the release said.
“I have loved working at the Figge over the past eight years,” Ms. Sage added in the release. “Having grown up in Davenport, I am deeply invested in positively impacting our community through art. I am proud of the work we do at the Figge and I’m eager to expand that work in my new role.”
Ms. Sage joined the Figge, which is located at 225 West Second St., in 2016 as a curatorial intern and most recently was an associate curator. Over the past eight years, she has advanced her curatorial expertise and knowledge of the collection to help create meaningful experiences for visitors. She also embraces diverse artistic perspectives and broadening the impact of art on the community.
Among the exhibits Ms. Sage has curated are: Irma Rene Koen: An Artist Rediscovered; John Bloom: Close to Home; Didier William: Lakou; Jane Gilmor: Breakfast on Pluto; and the upcoming exhibition, Tales of Futures Past: Cara and Diego Romero, which will be traveling to three venues. Catalogs accompanying these exhibitions are among her publications.
Mr. Johnson received a master’s degree in studio art from American University in Washington, D.C., his bachelor’s in sculpture and painting from Dominican University in Oak Park, Illinois. He has completed graduate work in museum studies at WIU. He has worked at the Figge since 2015. The new co-curator started as a graduate assistant in the Curatorial Department. He has been a preparator, assistant registrar, studio school manager, and assistant curator of contemporary and interdisciplinary art during his time at the Figge.
‘Excited’ by opportunity
“This is an exciting opportunity to continue the great work that has been done by our curatorial predecessors at the Figge,” Mr. Johnson said. “I am looking forward to exhibiting a fantastic historic collection in dynamic new ways, while striving to make the collection and exhibits as relevant to our audience as possible.”
Mr. Johnson has curated exhibitions including Mia Feuer: Totems of the Anthropocene; Dimensional: 3D Works from the Figge Collection; Caroline Kent: An Improvisation of Form; Anne Lindberg: think like the river with poet Ginny Threefoot; and Submerged in the Sublime: The Landscape Photography of Kim Keever.
For the last eight years, he also has taught art and art history classes at Muscatine and Scott community colleges. He will begin teaching adjunct classes at St. Ambrose University in the fall. Mr. Johnson has also been juror for a variety of exhibitions in the Quad Cities region.
The Figge is the premier art exhibition and education facility between Chicago and Des Moines. Its landmark glass building, designed by British architect David Chipperfield, is home to one of the Midwest’s finest art collections and presents world-class exhibitions, classes, lectures and special events.
Find out more at figgeartmuseum.org.
