Emily Ballew Neff has resigned as executive director of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Mark Resnick, the museum’s deputy director and COO, is taking the title of acting executive director, effective immediately.
No reason was given for Neff’s departure. “On behalf of the Brooks Museum’s Board and many supporters, I want to express my appreciation to Emily for her service to the Brooks and the greater Memphis arts community,” said museum board president Carl Person. “I know that Mark will use his broad experience in the arts and management acumen to further our mission today and help us realize our vision for a 21st century museum on the Mississippi river.”
Neff was quoted in the press release saying, “The future of the arts in Memphis could not be more exciting, and as I move on, I wish this great city every good fortune in its recovery from the pandemic and continued momentum.”
Neff joined the Brooks in 2015, replacing Cameron Kitchin, and was responsible for numerous achievements, including the museum’s “Brooks Outside” series, its centennial campaign and celebration in 2017, launching the Joyce Blackmon Curatorial Fellowship in African American Art and Art of the African Diaspora, several permanent collection evaluations and reinstallations, and planning for a proposed new museum campus on the Memphis riverfront. Design concepts of the new facility are expected to be unveiled in the fall of 2021.
“Memphis is one of the most culturally rich cities in America and I’m fortunate to get to work with our great staff and Board of Directors on the Brooks Museum’s exciting next steps,” says Resnick.
The Brooks’ next special exhibition, “Persevere & Resist: The Strong Black Women of Elizabeth Catlett,” opens June 5th. For more information, go here.
