Katherine de Vos Devine has been appointed the first Executive Director of Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center (BMCM+AC), effective July 1, 2015, it was announced today by BMCM+AC Board Chair Dr. J. Richard Gruber. In her position at BMCM+AC she will be responsible for providing strategic and operational leadership for the institution as it expands its facilities and programs in downtown Asheville's vibrant cultural district.

Ms. Devine, who is completing her Ph.D. in Art History at Duke University, and who has been active in research and curatorial projects at Duke's Nasher Museum of Art, also received her J.D. degree from Duke in 2010. After completing a B.A. in Art History, also from Duke, she returned to her native New York City and worked as a paralegal at Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, assisting with incorporations, tax-exempt status, corporate governance, and strategic planning for over 100 public charities and private foundations from 2005 to 2007. In that position, she worked with a diversity of non-profit organizations including museums, arts centers, dance troupes, and theater companies, among others. 

Established in 1993, BMCM+AC celebrates the history and legacy of Black Mountain College (1933-57) and honors its role as a forerunner in progressive, interdisciplinary education with a focus on the arts. The College attracted an extraordinary roster of gifted individuals including Josef and Anni Albers, John Cage, Robert Creeley, Merce Cunningham, Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Buckminster Fuller, Francine du Plessix Gray, Jacob Lawrence, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, and many others whose impact on the arts continues today.

Dr. Gruber stated, "Katherine is the perfect choice to join the team at this pivotal moment in BMCM+AC's history, as we expand our facility and programming to better serve our community and many visitors. Her experience in the arts, higher education, non-profit management, and with a distinguished law firm, made her the ideal candidate to be our inaugural Executive Director. Through her involvement in and passionate commitment to the arts and education, she fully grasps the role of the institution, its legacy, vital relevance today, and robust future as a unique place for art-centered education and interdisciplinary practice. Her knowledge, expertise, and engagement with the law, art history, and contemporary art - perfectly reflected in the title of her dissertation, Transformed: Contemporary Art, Copyright Law, and Fair Use - assure enlightened leadership and vision. We are delighted to welcome Katherine and look forward to working with her on the grand opening this summer of our new space and initiatives in development."

Ms. Devine said, "It is a pleasure and a privilege to join Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center as Executive Director. I am delighted to join Rick, the Board, Program Director Alice Sebrell, and the dedicated staff alongside our partners and supporters as we move forward into our next phase of growth that is ripe with opportunities. The legacy of Black Mountain College continues to resonate strongly with various communities around the world, and our new space and expanded programs will connect this legacy with contemporary art practices influenced and inspired by Black Mountain College. With great enthusiasm, I look forward to bringing my experience, passion, and ideas to this marvelous institution."

Ms. Devine was selected by a BMCM+AC Board committee following a rigorous national search.

About Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center

The Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center (BMCM+AC) was founded in 1993, in Asheville, NC, to preserve and pay tribute to the history and legacy of innovation of Black Mountain College (1933-57) and to acknowledge the College's role as a forerunner in progressive, interdisciplinary education with a focus on the arts.

With its emphasis on the individual rather than the institution and its striking success in attracting people of great talent and originality, the College drew a roster of gifted mavericks, some of whom went on to become well-known and highly influential in the latter half of the 20th century. A partial list includes: Josef and Anni Albers, John Cage, Robert Creeley, Merce Cunningham, Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Buckminster Fuller, Francine du Plessix Gray, Ray Johnson, Karen Karnes, Franz Kline, Jacob Lawrence, Kenneth Noland, Charles Olson, Arthur Penn, Robert Rauschenberg, M.C. Richards, Dorothea Rockburne, Ben Shahn, Cy Twombly, Jonathan Williams and many others who have impacted the world in a significant way. 

BMCM+AC's programming targets both the historical importance of the College and the many ways that its legacy remains relevant and vital today with exhibitions, seminars, panel discussions, publications, film and video screenings, and oral history interviews with surviving BMC faculty and students. www.blackmountaincollege.org