Ian Berry named director of Tang Museum at Skidmore College

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y., Oct. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Ian Berry , associate director and Susan Rabinowitz Malloy '45 Curator of the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, has been named the museum's third director.

The appointment—effective December 1—was announced by Beau Breslin, interim dean of the faculty and vice president for academic affairs.

Berry succeeds John Weber , who is leaving the Tang after eight years to be the founding director of the Institute of the Arts and Sciences at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Berry will occupy the endowed directorship established in 1997 by Joan Layng Dayton '63 and Robert Dayton . He will also hold the title of professor of liberal arts.

"Ian is a brilliant artistic visionary, one who not only understands the current wave of contemporary art, but in every way helps to shape that wave," said Breslin. "He also acutely understands the importance of the Tang's central mission as a teaching museum."

Weber called Berry's appointment "well earned and great news for Skidmore and the world of academic museums."

Added Weber, "Ian's extraordinary curatorial vision and his commitment to the Tang's teaching mission have been central to the Tang's growth and national reputation. I could not be more pleased by the selection of Ian as the Tang's next Dayton Director."

"I am honored to serve as Dayton Director of the Tang Museum," Berry said. "The Tang is a model for college and university museums, and I look forward to many great things in our future." 

Berry joined Skidmore as the Tang's founding curator in 2000 after serving as assistant curator at the Williams College Museum of Art. Graduating in 1995 from the University at Albany-SUNY with a B.A. in art history, he earned an M.A. in curatorial studies at Bard College in 1998.

The author of more than a dozen books and catalogues, Berry has organized many memorable exhibitions in the Tang's history. These include diverse projects with artists including Terry Adkins, Kathy Butterly , Nancy Grossman , Tim Rollins and K.O.S., Amy Sillman , Jessica Stockholder, Fred Tomaselli , and Kara Walker .  

Berry pioneered the current practice at the Tang of working alongside faculty on large-scale interdisciplinary projects, which has become a national model for best practices in college museums. He is currently at work on survey exhibitions of artists Corita Kent and Nicholas Krushenick .

For more information on the Tang Museum, visit www.skidmore.edu/tang.

Media Contact: Robert Kimmerle Skidmore College , 518-580-5744, bkimmerl@skidmore.edu

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SOURCE Skidmore College