NORTHAMPTON, MA — The Smith College Museum of Art (SCMA) has appointed Emma Chubb as Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs. Chubb, who is the Charlotte Feng Ford ’83 Curator of Contemporary Art, will continue in this capacity while also leading the museum's curatorial division. Overseeing exhibitions, acquisitions, collections research, and strategic curatorial initiatives will be among Chubb’s responsibilities in her new role.
“Emma brings to this role exceptional scholarly depth, a thoughtful and ambitious curatorial vision, and a genuine talent for fostering collaboration across the museum and the college. As Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs, she will be instrumental in shaping the future of SCMA’s curatorial program and furthering the museum’s longstanding commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and meaningful public engagement,” said Jessica Nicoll, Director and Louise Ines Doyle ’34 Chief Curator of the Smith College Museum of Art.
Emma Chubb is the inaugural Charlotte Feng Ford ’83 Curator of Contemporary Art at SCMA and a scholar specializing in contemporary art from Morocco. Her initiatives include Amanda Williams: An Imposing Number of Times (2020–22), Younes Rahmoun: Here, Now (2024–25)—the first retrospective dedicated to one of North Africa's most significant contemporary artists—and the establishment of SCMA's Artist-in-Residence Program. She is also the organizing curator for Don't mind if I do (2026) and Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (2026–27).
Her academic credentials include a PhD in art history, with a certificate in Middle East and North African Studies from Northwestern University, and a BA in Art History and French from Haverford College.
This appointment follows the nearly decade-long tenure of Aprile Gallant, who is stepping down from the Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs position. Gallant will remain at SCMA as the Mary Walcott Keyes 1931 Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs, dedicating her efforts to scholarship and major research projects.
Gallant’s leadership expanded the museum's curatorial expertise by appointing curators of Asian and Contemporary Art and overseeing a dynamic program of exhibitions, acquisitions, and collection initiatives. Her work has established a strong foundation for the department’s continued growth.
With Chubb’s appointment, SCMA continues a series of leadership transitions that have strengthened its senior team, underscoring the museum’s ongoing commitment to organizational excellence in support of its mission as a teaching museum for Smith College.
About the Smith College Museum of ArtAs a teaching museum at Smith College, SCMA is dedicated to connecting people to art, ideas, and each other by engaging people with firsthand experiences of art, artists and museum practice; collecting, researching, presenting and preserving an expansive collection of art in the service of learning, teaching, and critical dialogue; and by fostering an inclusive and accessible environment that welcomes diverse perspectives and inspires imagination.
Except for select holidays, SCMA and the SCMA Shop are open to the public year-round, Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. The museum is located at 20 Elm Street at Bedford Terrace, Northampton, MA.
In SCMA’s galleries and classrooms, visitors experience a world-class collection of art spanning ancient times to the present and encompassing the arts of Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The Cunningham Center for the Study of Prints, Drawings and Photographs houses and hosts the study of a comprehensive collection of works on paper. SCMA’s commitment to broad public access is supported by the Art Bridges Foundation’s “Access for All” grant initiative, alongside a generous gift from Smith College alumnae Jan Fullgraf Golann ’71 and Jane Timken ’64, which has enabled the museum to eliminate all admission fees and expand community programming. An accredited member of the American Alliance of Museums and a founding member of Museums10, a regional cultural collaboration, SCMA is also a member of the College Art Association and the New England Museum Association. #smithcollegemuseum#fineartmagazineblog.blogspot.com #sunstormfineartmagazine.com#artfunchange#artfunnow#artfunhistory#artfunculture
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