The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary in Bentonville, Arkansas, announced that the appointment of Courtenay Finn as the next chief curator of both institutions. Finn will start in her role on August 24. She will report to Austen Bailly, who was promoted from chief curator to deputy director of curatorial affairs in October.
Finn is currently chief curator and director of programs at the Orange County Museum of Art, which merged with the University of California, Irvine last year. She has previously served as the chief curator at moCa Cleveland in Ohio, senior curator at the Aspen Art Museum in Colorado, and curator at Art in General in New York.
During her tenure at OCMA, she worked on the opening of the museum’s building, grew its visitorship figures by 200 percent, added more than 100 works to the collection, including works by artists like Joan Brown, Derek Fordjour, Luchita Hurtado, and Yoshitomo. Additionally, she co-curated the “2025 California Biennial: Desperate, Scared, But Social,” and organized solo exhibitions of Alice Neel, Tony Lewis, Yu Ji, and Fred Eversley, as well as the two-artist exhibition “Deux Femmes: Leonor Fini & Leonora Carrington.”
Finn’s appointment comes just a couple weeks after Crystal Bridges opened a major expansion that added 114,000 square feet of new galleries, education and programming spaces to its original footprint of 200,000 square feet.
“I am thrilled to be joining the incredible team at Crystal Bridges, especially at this moment of growth and expansion,” Finn said in a statement. “have watched the extraordinary work being done since the museum’s founding and I am excited to build on our shared commitment to exhibitions, programs, and initiatives that increase access, spark curiosity, and transform and expand traditional narratives.”
In addition to Finn’s appointment, Crystal Bridges and the Momentary also announced the hirings of Ryan Owen as chief development officer, who started on June 15, as well as Shayne Hart as chief communications and marketing officer, who joined in February. Finne, Owen, and Hart will all join the museum’s executive council.
“We are delighted to welcome Courtenay, Ryan, and Shayne to our executive leadership team at such a transformative moment for the institution,” Crystal Bridges executive director Rod Bigelow said in a statement.“Each brings a distinct perspective, deep expertise, and a shared commitment to our mission. Together, they will help guide Crystal Bridges and the Momentary into this next phase of growth and impact.”
