Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) has announced the appointment of Sarah Darro as its new curator and exhibitions director. Following the departure of Kathryn Hall earlier this year, HCCC launched a national search to fill the role.
Sarah Darro
Ms. Darro, a curator, writer, and visual anthropologist, brings to HCCC an intersectional curatorial vision that sees museums as active spaces for dialogue, innovation, and engagement. She holds an MS in Visual, Material, and Museum Anthropology from the University of Oxford and dual BAs in Art History and Anthropology from Barnard College of Columbia University. Her research is multifaceted and touches on artist communities and collectives, relational aesthetics, movement and performance in craft, architecturally-influenced design, radical accessibility, systems esthetics, and the histories and functions of objects.
Most recently, Ms. Darro served as the Gallery Manager for the Center for Craft in Asheville, North Carolina. Previously, she was a research fellow at the Corning Museum of Glass (2020) in Corning, New York, and at HCCC (2015-2018). In the role of Curator & Exhibitions Director, Ms. Darro will lead the development, management, and implementation of exhibitions and related programming. She will also work closely with the current HCCC Windgate Curatorial Fellow, Cydney Pickens, and the rest of the staff to design and implement public programs.
In a press release announcing the appointment, outgoing HCCC Executive Director Perry Price said, “HCCC is excited to welcome Sarah Darro back to Houston. After three years producing innovative and exciting exhibitions at the Center as our curatorial fellow, Sarah has continued to develop and deepen her curatorial voice in craft at peer institutions across the country and earn impressive accolades for her work. Her accomplishments, her relationships with artists and communities, and her novel approach to exhibition development and design will find a receptive home at HCCC and within the cultural community of Houston.”
Ms. Darro commented, “Stewarding the exhibitions program of an institution that has led the charge in expansive, community-driven explorations of craft is a tremendous honor. I look forward to joining the passionate team at HCCC and to developing rigorous, adventurous curatorial presentations that reflect the vibrant cultural fabric of Houston and harness the enormous potential of new and unfolding narratives of craft.”
Ms. Darro will begin her position later this month.
