Cultural Comings and Goings: The Armory Show’s 2024 Curators and More

From Kristina O’Neill taking on the newly created role of head of Sotheby's Media to Amy Hau’s appointment as the next director of the Noguchi Museum, here are some of the most notable role changes recently announced across the arts and culture sphere.

Eugenie Tsai, Robyn Farrell and Lauren Cornell tapped as curators for the 2024 Armory Show

As the Armory Show gears up to celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, the annual art fair has selected three New York-based curators for its 2024 edition. Eugenie Tsai, Robyn Farrell and Lauren Cornell will respectively work on the Armory’s Platform section, Focus section and Curatorial Leadership Summit (CLS).

The Armory Show, which was acquired by Frieze earlier this year, is scheduled to open its upcoming show at the Javits Center next September. An overarching theme of art-historical reverberations in the present day will link all three curated sections. Tsai, who most recently worked as a senior curator of contemporary art at the Brooklyn Museum, will oversee large-scale installations and site-specific works engaging with memory, material and spirit for the Platform section, which was introduced in 2017.

The Focus section, meanwhile, will emphasize the experimental nature of the Armory, which was founded in 1994 at the Gramercy Hotel. It will showcase avant-garde history with works curated by Farrell, who is currently a senior curator at nonprofit art space The Kitchen.

Cornell, a chief curator of the Hessel Museum of Art and the current director of Bard College’s graduate program at the Center for Curatorial Studies, will chair the art fair’s annual CLS. The Armory’s 2024 theme will be discussed in convenings, which will a public keynote presentation scheduled to follow a closed-door session.

“We are fortunate to have them collaborate on a theme that both reflects their individual interests and collectively informs our understanding of how the past informs the present,” said Nicole Berry, the Armory’s executive director, in a statement. “We look forward to seeing which artists they highlight and what conversations, connections and discoveries they inspire this year.”

Kristina O’Neill to head Sotheby’s media division

Sotheby’s auction house has appointed media veteran Kristina O’Neill to oversee its media division in a newly created role. As of January, O’Neill will serve as head of Sotheby’s Media in addition to acting as editor-in-chief of Sotheby’s Magazine.

The move aligns with the auction house’s focus on expanding its global audience and follows its recent appointment of Nick Marino as global head of content. Both O’Neill and Marino will be reporting to Gareth Jones, Sotheby’s chief marketing officer.

Rooted in the magazine, the new initiative of Sotheby’s Media will also encompass digital, audio and video content. O’Neill will additionally be responsible for introducing a signature event for Sotheby’s Magazine, with the first scheduled for next fall.  This won’t be O’Neill’s first time working in luxury publications—she previously served as editor-in-chief of WSJ Magazine for more than a decade, steering its strategy and expansion and introducing landmark cultural events.

O’Neill’s appointment comes at a transitional time for Sotheby’s, which recently acquired Manhattan’s Breuer Building and is preparing to celebrate its 280th anniversary in 2024. “Joining Sotheby’s at such a pivotal time presents a unique and exciting opportunity,” said O’Neill in a statement, adding that she is “thrilled at the prospect of creating deeper connections with our audience through a luxurious magazine, innovative digital offerings and a suite of immersive events and experiences.”

The Noguchi Museum appoints Amy Hau as its next director 

Also taking on a new role in January is Amy Hau, who will return to the Noguchi Museum as its next director. Hau is a familiar face at the institution, having started her career in the 1980s as the assistant of artist and museum founder Isamu Noguchi.

Working at the Queens-based museum for nearly three decades, Hau helped expand its outreach, oversaw $23 million in capital projects for its restoration and led its plan for an expanded campus. Her most recent role at the Noguchi was director of administration and external affairs, which consisted of working on strategic plans, developing new master facilities and reorganizing its sister museum in Japan. After leaving the museum in 2015, Hau moved to the WXY Architecture and Urban Design firm to serve as a managing principal.

With her new appointment, she will succeed Brett Littman, who stepped down earlier this year. Completing the museum’s capital campaign, developing its campus and celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2025 will be some of Hau’s primary responsibilities as she takes over the museum, which is based in Long Island City.

“Her experience coupled with her first-hand knowledge of the Museum and its history, and her deep connection to Queens, made her our top choice,” said Susan Kessler, museum board co-chair, in a statement. Hau has strong ties to the borough, having served on Community Board 1, Queens, for the past nine years.

Anne Kraybill to head the Art Bridges Foundation

Anne Kraybill, a former museum director for two U.S. regional institutions., is set to take the helm of the Art Bridges Foundation. Founded in 2017 by billionaire philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton, the foundation focuses on increasing art access through partnerships with hundreds of museums.

Kraybill will replace Art Bridge Foundation’s founding CEO Paul Provost as she takes on the organization’s strategies of exhibition support, collection loans and community-engaged programming.

“As a director of two regional museums that have partnered with the foundation, I know first-hand how transformative Art Bridges is by creating and supporting programs that bring diverse artworks and exhibitions to communities across the country,” said Kraybill in a statement. She previously headed the Wichita Art Museum, where she eliminated admission fees and established an American Art Acquisition fund, after emphasizing local partnerships and doubling financial reserves at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art.

Kraybill is no stranger to Walton-associated arts institutions. She formerly acted as director of education and research in learning at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which was opened by Walton more than a decade ago. Like the Art Bridges Foundation, the museum is also located in Walton’s hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas.