Minneapolis Institute of Art hires new curator of photography

Above: Minneapolis Institute of Art's new curator of photography/new media, Casey Riley. (Courtesy of Mia.)

Minneapolis Institute of Art's photography/new media department is going through some cha-cha-changes.

The museum's new curator and head of the Department of Photography and New Media, Casey Riley, began her job on Sept. 10. Previously she was at the Boston Athenaeum, where she served as assistant curator. A specialist in the history of photography and visual/material culture of the 19^th century, Riley has a particular interest in gender studies.

"We are delighted to have Dr. Riley join the curatorial team at Mia. Her particular interest in gender studies and the work of women photographers is a welcome new direction for the department," said Mia director and president Kaywin Feldman in a statement.

Riley replaces Photography/New Media department head and curator Yasufumi Nakamori, who left Mia in August to become Senior Curator of International Art (Photography) at the Tate Modern London. He starts his new job in early October.

"At Mia, I enjoyed tremendously the freedom to work beyond the boundaries of media and historical and geographical divisions (often found in an encyclopedic art museum) by introducing contemporary photo and video artists to the museum's vast collection," said Nakamori. "I am so pleased to join the international and diverse curatorial team of Tate Modern, which is engaged in critical methodological experiments for the purposes of expanding and complicating narratives of global modern and contemporary art."

Nakamori, who was at Mia for two years, brought a wealth of international art stars to Minneapolis, including Berlin-based Israeli artist Omer Fast, Japanese photographer Naoya Hatakeyama, and the Ho Chi Minh City-based artist collective The Propeller Group. His departure marked a second curator of color leaving the Twin Cities in 2018.