Chrysler Museum of Art Names New Director of Curatorial Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 4, 2023 (Norfolk, Va.) – The Chrysler Museum of Art is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark A. Castro as Director of Curatorial Affairs, who begins work at the Museum on April 17, 2023.

Following a national search, Castro was selected to oversee the Museum’s Curatorial, Conservation, and Collections & Exhibitions divisions, as well as serve on the Senior Leadership Team. In this role, he will help to shape the institution’s overall artistic program, aligning it with the Museum’s strategic priorities and mission. Working collaboratively across the Museum as both a manager and curator, Castro will creatively utilize the Chrysler’s collections and exhibitions to engage, educate, and expand visitor participation, with the objective of enlivening the institution’s offering and enhancing its reputation locally, nationally, and internationally.

Castro brings to the Chrysler Museum more than 18 years of dynamic curatorial experience with an emphasis in Latin American Art. Most recently, Castro was the Inaugural Jorge Baldor Curator of Latin American Art at the Dallas Museum of Art, where he curated a diverse array exhibitions, including Flores Mexicanas: Women in Modern Mexican Art (2019), Frida Kahlo: Five Works (2021), Devoted: Art and Spirituality in Mexico and New Mexico (2021), and Octavio Medellín: Spirit and Form (2022). Castro previously held positions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where he was involved in numerous exhibitions, including co-curating the internationally acclaimed Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism, 1910-1950 (2016). Castro holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. in art history from Bryn Mawr College, and a B.A. in Archaeology and Studio Art from Hamilton College. In 2022 he was a fellow at the Center for Curatorial Leadership.

“The Chrysler Museum of Art is an incredibly vibrant institution,” said Castro. “It has a rich history of producing dynamic exhibitions and engaging deeply with its community. I am thrilled to be joining its team and looking forward to working with my colleagues to continue the museum’s amazing work.”

About the Chrysler Museum of Art

The Chrysler Museum of Art is one of America’s most distinguished mid-sized art museums, with a nationally recognized collection of more than 30,000 objects, including one of the great glass collections in America. The core of the Chrysler’s collection comes from Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., an avid art collector who donated thousands of objects from his private collection to the Museum. The Museum has growing collections in many areas and mounts an ambitious schedule of visiting exhibitions and educational programs each season. The Chrysler has also been recognized nationally for its unique commitment to hospitality with its innovative gallery host program.

The Perry Glass Studio is a state-of-the-art facility on the Museum’s campus. The studio offers programming for aspiring and master artists alike in a variety of processes, including glassblowing, fusing, flameworking, coldworking and neon.

In addition, the Chrysler Museum of Art administers the Moses Myers House, a historic house in downtown Norfolk, as well as the Jean Outland Chrysler Library. For more information on the Chrysler Museum of Art, visit chrysler.org.

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