The Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport, has undergone recent staff changes.
Museum veterans Vanessa Sage and Joshua Johnson are now Co-Senior Curators of the Figge, partly to cover for the December departure of Andrew Wallace, who was Director of Collections & Exhibitions.
In their new roles (effective last month), Sage and Johnson bring a wealth of expertise and passion for the arts that will shape and enhance the museum’s programming and collections, the Figge announced Wednesday.
Johnson most recently was Studio School Manager, a role which he held for less than a year and his previous title in the curatorial department was Assistant Curator, Contemporary & Interdisciplinary Art. Sage most recently was Assistant Curator, Fine Art & Design, and is returning from maternity leave at the end of this month.
“Vanessa and Josh have been a part of the Figge’s curatorial team for nearly a decade in different roles,” Figge executive director Michelle Hargrave said in a Wednesday release. “Their years of experience, expertise and knowledge have prepared them to lead the museum’s efforts to bring in exhibitions and acquisitions that contribute to the vibrant cultural landscape of the Quad Cities.”
Sage earned her bachelor’s degree in Art History and Italian from the University of Iowa and her master’s in Museum Studies from Western Illinois University-QC. Born and raised in Davenport, she grew up a few blocks from the Davenport Museum of Art and fondly remembers visiting the museum as a child.
Her work at the museum began in 2016 as a Curatorial Intern and she most recently held the position of Associate Curator. Over the past eight years, she has advanced her curatorial expertise and knowledge of the collection to help create meaningful experiences for visitors, the Figge said.
As a curator, she is dedicated to embracing diverse artistic perspectives and broadening the impact of art on the community.
Sage has curated many exhibitions ranging from historical to contemporary, including Irma Rene Koen: An Artist Rediscovered, John Bloom: Close to Home, Didier William: Lakou, Jane Gilmor: Breakfast on Pluto, and the forthcoming exhibition, Tales of Futures Past: Cara and Diego Romero, which will be traveling to three venues. Catalogues accompanying these exhibitions are among her publications.
“I have loved working at the Figge over the past eight years,” said Sage. “Having grown up in Davenport, I am deeply invested in positively impacting our community through art. I am proud of the work we do at the Figge and I’m eager to expand that work in my new role.”
Johnson received his MFA in Studio Art from American University in Washington, DC, his bachelor’s in Sculpture and Painting from Dominican University in Oak Park, Ill., and has completed additional graduate work in Museum Studies at Western Illinois University.
He has worked at the Figge since 2015 where he started as a Graduate Assistant in the Curatorial Department. Johnson has held the positions of Preparator, Assistant Registrar, Studio School Manager, and Assistant Curator of Contemporary and Interdisciplinary Art during his time at the Figge.
While working in the curatorial department, he’s curated exhibits including Mia Feuer: Totems of the Anthropocene, Dimensional: 3D Works from the Figge Collection, Caroline Kent: An Improvisation of Form, Anne Lindberg: think like the river with poet Ginny Threefoot, and Submerged in the Sublime: The Landscape Photography of Kim Keever.
In addition to working at the Figge, Johnson has taught art and art history courses at Muscatine and Scott Community Colleges for the last eight years and will also begin teaching adjunct classes at St. Ambrose University in the fall. He has also acted as juror for a variety of exhibitions throughout the Quad Cities region.
“This is an exciting opportunity to continue the great work that has been done by our curatorial predecessors at the Figge,” said Johnson. “I am looking forward to exhibiting a fantastic historic collection in dynamic new ways, while striving to make the collection and exhibits as relevant to our audience as possible.”
As Co-Senior Curators, Johnson and Sage will work collaboratively to develop a dynamic and diverse exhibition calendar that showcases a variety of artwork from artists of all backgrounds and mediums.
Both have facilitated important acquisitions for the collection as part of their roles on the Acquisitions and Loans Committee including Didier William’s N’ap naje ansamn, n’ap vole ansamn, 2019 and Blue Grass artist Terry Rathje’s Kiwi Canoe.
They will work to expand the collection to fill art historical gaps and to include more video works, performance documentation, 3D printing, virtual reality, and other contemporary art forms as they develop.
For more information on the Figge, click HERE.
