The Elmhurst Art Museum announces the appointment of Allison Peters Quinn to Executive Director and Chief Curator

- Via PR 

The Elmhurst Art Museum announces the appointment of Allison Peters Quinn to Executive Director and Chief Curator. An established curator, educator, and art writer based in Chicago, Peters Quinn will spearhead the Elmhurst Art Museum’s mission to spark cultural enrichment and serve as “a creative space where art is for everyone.” With her significant background presenting thought-provoking, diverse exhibitions and programming, Peters Quinn will expand the museum’s role as a cultural leader in the Chicagoland area for contemporary art, arts education, and mid-century modern architecture. Peters Quinn succeeds former Executive Director John McKinnon and Interim Executive Director Ann Quinn Kelly and begins her role effective December 2, 2024.

Peters Quinn says, “Elmhurst Art Museum brings together contemporary art, education, community, and authentic modern architecture to establish a welcoming, intentional space for culture and creativity. Sharing the museum’s belief that ‘art is for everyone’, I see exciting opportunities for the institution to expand its impact through this commitment to radical accessibility. My work over the past twenty years has been dedicated to bringing diverse audiences into civic dialog through looking at, experiencing, and making art – all of which will complement the inclusive programming at the museum. I look forward to building on the deep relationships with artists and institutional partnerships I have established in Chicago and around the world and working with the outstanding Board of Directors and staff to take the museum to the next level as an accredited and visionary leader in the field.”

As Executive Director and Chief Curator, Peters Quinn will oversee the programming and operations of the 15,000-square-foot museum campus, including its art galleries, studio classrooms, gathering spaces, and the on-campus McCormick House, a single-family home designed in 1952 by the iconic 20th century architect Mies van der Rohe. Peters Quinn builds on the recent momentum of the museum, which welcomed nearly 15,000 visitors to exhibitions and approximately 20,000 to outdoor community projects in 2023, including visitors to its annual Art in Wilder Park juried art fair.

Peters Quinn comes to the Elmhurst Art Museum from the Hyde Park Art Center where she served as Director of Exhibitions and Residency Programs. Throughout her twenty-year tenure at the Art Center, Peters Quinn mounted career-altering exhibitions of emerging and mid-career artists who are now well-recognized, such as Theaster Gates, Edra Soto, Cándida Alvarez, Faheem Majeed, Fo Wison, Jim Duigan, and Lan Tuazon.

Peters Quinn’s exhibitions feature social and environmental justice as a central focus, highlighting artists who engage the public in conversations and actions towards community change. Identifying and presenting Chicago artists through the lens of the social, political, ecological, and educational concerns of our time, Peters Quinn provides a critical platform for artists to take risks and realize large scale projects, launching artists into the next chapters of their careers.

“On behalf of the Elmhurst Art Museum’s Board of Directors, I am thrilled that Allison Peters Quinn will be the museum’s next Executive Director and Chief Curator,” stated Board Chair of the Elmhurst Art Museum Joseph R. Jeffery. “Allison has earned a reputation as a creative and thoughtful leader, curator, and educator. Those talents align perfectly with the museum’s mission to serve as ‘a creative space where art is for everyone’. Allison’s decades of experience working within the Chicago artist community will allow her to draw on her deep connections to Chicago’s emerging and mid-career artists, arts patrons, galleries, and museums to ensure the museum continues to offer the engaging and impactful exhibitions for which it is known. We are beyond excited about all that Allison brings to the Elmhurst Art Museum and look forward to its next chapter under her leadership.”

Throughout her career, Peters Quinn has regularly advocated for the need for resources for artists in the form of studio space, financial support, and mentorship. Peters Quinn led Hyde Park Art Center in developing a commissioning program that pays Chicago artists to realize ambitious new artworks and installations and designed a Residency program that advanced the Art Center’s strengths in caring for artists. She also established the Artists Run Chicago Fund, which has distributed over one million dollars to nearly 100 artist-run platforms since 2020.  By building networks, encouraging new ideas, and providing opportunities for growth, Peters Quinn nurtures artistic practices in all career stages.

At the Elmhurst Art Museum, Peters Quinn will continue to champion the work of artists from diverse backgrounds of knowledge and experience, reflecting the priorities and strengths of the museum’s exhibition program. Its recent exhibitions Rafael Blanco: Reflecting on a Decade of Public Art (2024), Norman Teague: A Love Supreme (2024), andSentrock: The Boy Who Wanted to Fly (2023) offered first solo museum exhibitions to rising Chicagoland artists with a focus on supporting bold new commissions and site-specific works.

Deepening the museum’s investment in its community, Peters Quinn looks forward to building on the Elmhurst Art Museum’s long history of collaborating with its artists, students, staff, neighbors, and local organizations to create welcoming and educational programming for all ages. Peters Quinn’s wealth of experience in accessible art education will ensure the continued growth and quality of the museum’s youth and adult classes, camps, community workshops, and school tours. 

Awarded the Ramapo College Curatorial Prize, Quinn has served as juror for national art organizations including the Artadia Award, Efroymson Award, Nohl Award, Oklahoma Visual Arts Fellowship, and the Ragdale Foundation, among others. Her ongoing work with alternative art spaces has led to her invitation to the Founding Board for Narrow Bridge Art Club in Woodlawn.

Texts by Peters Quinn on the historical relevance of contemporary artists’ practices have appeared in art anthologies, journals, and catalogs including Stockyard Institute: 25 Years of Art and Radical Pedagogy (DePaul Art Museum, 2023), Service Media: Is it Public Art or Art in Public Space (Green Lantern Press, 2013), and The Artists Run Chicago Digest (Three Walls, 2009) in addition to artists’ monographic publications through Hyde Park Art Center on dozens of artists like Susan Giles, Dutes & Shellabarger, and Jefferson Pinder. 

Peters Quinn seeks out opportunities to mentor and teach emerging art administrators, curators, and artists to encourage dynamic conversations in art and culture. She has taught curatorial practice courses for the School of the Art Institute in Chicago and the University of Chicago Graham School and a Business in the Visual Arts course at Columbia College Chicago. She earned her MA at the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, and BA at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. 

ABOUT THE ELMHURST ART MUSEUM

The Elmhurst Art Museum is located at 150 South Cottage Hill Avenue in Elmhurst (IL), 25 minutes from downtown Chicago by car or public transportation (Metra). On the museum’s campus is the McCormick House, a single-family home designed in 1952 by Mies van der Rohe, one of the great architects of the 20th Century. The McCormick House is one of only three residences designed and built by van der Rohe in the United States – and one of only two open to the public. 

The Museum is open Wednesday and Thursday from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., Friday through Sunday, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Regular admission prices are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors 65+, $10 for students (ages 18+) with school ID, $5 for children 5-17, and free for children under 5. For more information, please call 630.834.0202 or visitelmhurstartmuseum.org.