The University of Wyoming Art Museum will welcome a new director this January. Marianne Eileen Wardle has spent the last eleven years as Curator of Academic Initiatives at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Her duties at UW begin January 29.
Wardle’s background is in art scholarship and art curation. While at Duke, she also taught courses in art history, women’s studies, and museum studies.
As Director, Wardle said she would like to use her experience in academics to continue to build the relationship between the art museum and the university community, and make the museum more attractive to the general public.
“The University’s art museum is the only state-funded art museum in the state. So really it’s the state’s art museum. That’s an important thing to sort of build on, I mean, Laramie’s right on the interstate,” said Wardle. “A lot of people come to the football games, so there’s no reason for people to not also think about stopping in at the art museum when they’re passing through as part of their collection.”
Wardle will replace Susan Moldenhauer, who retired in November after serving as the museum’s director for fifteen years.