Press RoomPhoenix Art Museum appoints new head of education, engagement, and community programs
Phoenix Art Museum appoints new head of education, engagement, and community programs
Sep, 06, 2022
Board of Trustees and Leadership
Phoenix Art Museum appoints new head of education, engagement, and community programs
Paul A. Rogers, PhD, will lead the Museum’s educational and programming efforts as the new Gerry Grout Director of Education and Engagement
PHOENIX (September 6, 2022) – Phoenix Art Museum has selected Paul A. Rogers, PhD, to serve as the Museum’s new Gerry Grout Director of Education and Engagement following an extensive national search. Rogers will officially begin in the role on October 3, 2022.
“We are thrilled to welcome Paul Rogers to the senior leadership team at Phoenix Art Museum,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Museum’s Sybil Harrington Director and CEO. “As an arts scholar, museum leader, and educator, Paul has the passion, creativity, and strategic vision needed to galvanize the Museum’s Education and Engagement Division as we work to innovate our suite of public programs and curricula offerings with an eye toward equity and inclusion. Dr. Rogers will also work to create new and grow existing community partnerships, while re-envisioning arts education for the multiplicity of audiences the Museum serves here in Arizona.”
As the Grout Director of Education and Engagement, Rogers will play a vital role in ensuring the Museum’s continued efforts to provide a wide array of inclusive arts-engagement opportunities for the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area and audiences throughout the Southwest. His portfolio of responsibilities will include oversight of exhibition-related programming, family and intergenerational arts programming, artist-led programming, virtual engagement, and accessibility. Rogers will also oversee and work alongside the Museum’s volunteer-educators, including its 250-member Docent corps, who play an integral role in providing arts education to the community through on-site and virtual school tours, virtual and in-person art presentations for older adults, and much more.
Rogers comes to Phoenix Art Museum from the Museum of Art and Design (MOAD) at Miami Dade College, where he served as curator of public programs and education. Previously, he served as director of content and public programming and director of the Center for Visual Culture at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York City. Prior to his time at ICP, Rogers worked at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, where he was the vice-president of public programs and exhibitions. His experience includes nine years of consulting in thought-leadership, diversity-focused organizational change, and culture-based programming for clients such as Tides Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, and the Amistad Center for Art and Culture.
“I am very excited to have been selected as the new Gerry Grout Director of Education and Engagement at Phoenix Art Museum, an institution devoted to engaging communities and audiences in the transformative power of art,” said Rogers. “The visual arts challenge us to see ourselves afresh, to confirm and think about new ways of seeing and being, to help us envision a new and better world. I look forward to working with the tremendous staff at PhxArt as we move forward making the visionary capacities of the arts accessible to all.”
Rogers earned both a Master’s degree and a PhD in the history of art from Yale University and has taught and lectured at the University of Chicago, Harvard University, UC Berkeley, Indiana University, and Emory University. He earned an undergraduate degree in art history from the University of California, Davis. Rogers is the latest addition to the Museum’s senior leadership team, which is composed of Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO; Nikki DeLeon-Martin, Deputy Director and Chief Operations Officer; Allan Alvarado, Chief Financial Officer; and Nicole Rivet, Chief Development Officer. Along with the senior leadership team, the Museum is governed by a 35-member Board of Trustees, which includes many of the city’s prominent civic and corporate leaders and is led by Board Chair Donald Opatrny.
Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the leading art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 19,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.
