Visiting Curator Series

Lauren Haynes is Curator, Contemporary Art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. Prior to joining Crystal Bridges in October 2016, Haynes spent nearly a decade at The Studio Museum in Harlem where she was, most recently the Associate Curator for the permanent collection. As a specialist in African-American modern and contemporary art, Haynes curated dozens of exhibitions at the Studio Museum and contemporary art institutions in New York. At the Studio Museum, Haynes oversaw the care and collection of the permanent collection as well as acquisitions and exhibitions.

As Associate Curator, Permanent Collection, for the Studio Museum Haynes curated four main space exhibitions including Alma Thomas (co-curator); Speaking of People: Ebony, Jet and Contemporary Art; Trenton Doyle Hancock: Skin and Bones, 20 Years of drawing (institutional organizer) and Stanley Whitney: Dance the Orange. In addition to making the front page of the New York Times Arts Section, Stanley Whitney: Dance the Orange received favorable reviews from many publications including The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Art in America and Artforum.

As an Assistant Curator at the Studio Museum, Haynes oversaw the Artist-in-Residence program in 2011–12, 2012–13 and 2013–14. In addition to that, Haynes curated over a dozen exhibitions including Carrie Mae Weems: The Museum Series, Spiral: Perspectives on an African-American Art Collective and Kira Lynn Harris: The Block/Bellona. She also co-curated serval exhibitions including Fore, the most recent exhibition of emerging artists in the Studio Museum’s seminal “f” show series which includes Freestyle, Frequency and Flow.

As part of her curatorial practice, Haynes has authored and co-authored several catalogues such as Alma Thomas, The Bearden Project, Speaking of People: Ebony, Jet and Contemporary Art and Stanley Whitney: Dance the Orange. At the Studio Museum Haynes coordinated production for various publications: Gordon Parks: A Harlem Family 1967 (2012); Stephen Burks: Man Made (2011); Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: Any Number of Preoccupations (2011); Harlem: A Century in Images (2010); Kehinde Wiley – The Word Stage: Africa, Lagos ~ Dakar (2008); and Kori Newkirk: 1997-2007 (2007). In addition to her work at the Studio Museum, Haynes has participated in many panels and lectures about African-American artists. She has also lectured at venues around the United States including The Whitney Museum of American Art, Deutsche Bank and Texas State University, San Marcos. She is a member of the Association of Art Museum Curators and serves on the Nomination and Governance Committee. Haynes is a recipient of a 2016 Gold Rush Award from Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation.