Crawford Appointed Interim Director of UW Art Museum

Nicole Crawford, longtime curator of collections at the University of Wyoming Art Museum, has been appointed as interim director of the museum to succeed Marianne Wardle.

Crawford joined the UW Art Museum in 2009 as the curator of collections and moved into the role of assistant director and chief curator in 2018. She leads the curatorial team to oversee, plan, manage and implement the exhibition schedule; supervises curatorial staff; oversees development of the museum’s collection; serves as the curatorial lead and content authority for all exhibitions; teaches museum studies courses; leads museum-based study-abroad courses; and chairs the museum’s Collections Advisory Committee.

“Nicole Crawford possesses an exceptional amount of experience and expertise in the art museum field, and I very much look forward to working with her to introduce exciting new exhibitions and collaborations, and continue the museum’s tradition of showcasing the very best art from around the world,” UW Acting President Neil Theobald says. “We also are very grateful to Marianne Wardle for her service as director of the UW Art Museum.”

Formerly the vice president of gallery operations and director at the Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe, N.M., Crawford supervised staff, conducted research and worked with numerous collectors during her eight years with the gallery. Previously, she was the curatorial assistant at the Sheldon Museum of Art on the University of Nebraska campus and completed the academic internship program at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She has a dual master’s degree in art history and museum studies and a bachelor’s degree in art history, both from the University of Nebraska.

For more information about the UW Art Museum, call (307) 766-6622, visit the website at www.uwyo.edu/artmuseum, or follow the museum on Facebook and Instagram.

The UW Art Museum collects, exhibits and interprets art to inspire creativity and nurture lifelong learning for the people of Wyoming. Located in the Centennial Complex at 2111 E. Willett Drive in Laramie, the museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday hours are extended to 7 p.m. Admission is free.