The Board of Trustees has voted to appoint Dr. Asma Naeem as the Museum’s new Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director following a 10-month international search. Asma has served the BMA phenomenally well as our Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown Chief Curator since her arrival in 2018. And, alongside Chief Operating Officer Christine Dietze, she has led the Museum as Interim Co-Director since Christopher Bedford’s departure last June.
Throughout the search process, Asma stood out as a candidate not only for the exceptional work she has already done at the BMA but for her clarity of vision. She sees opportunities for how the BMA can explore, experiment, and envision what a museum can be and mean to its community, to artists, and to local partners. She values the artistic excellence for which the BMA has long been known and the ground-breaking exhibitions and programs that forefront underrepresented voices that we have undertaken in recent years.
Most importantly, Asma loves this Museum, its staff, its members, and all the people who seek out the art in our galleries. Asma respects what the BMA has meant to the community since its founding, and she sees the BMA’s incredible potential for the future.
Asma will be the BMA’s 11th director and the first person of color to take this role. As we continue to work to provide diverse representation to our community, it’s wonderful to have someone so uniquely qualified to take the helm.
We are excited to begin our Museum’s next chapter together.
