Dr. Sarah E. Kleinman has been announced as the new director of Texas State Galleries, located in the Joann Cole Mitte Building on the Texas State University campus in San Marcos. Ms. Kleinman succeeds Margo Handwerker, who served as Director from 2016 to 2024, when she accepted the position of Dean of the Core Residency Program.
Sarah Kleinman
Ms. Kleinman joins the Texas State School of Art and Design from previous positions at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts and the Metropolitan State University of Denver Department of Art. In a press release, Ms. Kleinman emphasized the function of the school’s art galleries as a hub of student learning and inquiry.
She stated, “I’m honored to lead Texas State Galleries into its next chapter, building on its strong foundation while collaborating with students, faculty, and the wider community to champion inclusivity, experimentation, and the transformative power of contemporary art. Together, we’ll expand the Galleries’ role as a hub for student-centered learning, critical inquiry, and creative exchange — locally, regionally, and beyond.”
Ms. Kleinman brings experience as an art historian, museum professional, and teacher of museum studies and modern and contemporary art to her new role. Her work has centered Caribbean, diasporic, and expatriate artists and curators, with an interest in contemporary art focused on themes of movement, migration, and exile.
Ms. Kleinman previously served as curatorial assistant for the 2024-2026 touring exhibition American, Born Hungary: Kertész, Capa, and the Hungarian American Photographic Legacy at the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York. She was curator and gallery coordinator for the Reynolds Gallery in Richmond, Virginia from 2017 to 2018.
In addition to her interdisciplinary teaching and curatorial work, Ms. Kleinman is a Fulbright alumna with a forthcoming book, In Favor of One’s Time: Locating the Curatorial Practices of Kynaston McShine, to be published by the University of Arkansas Press. Ms. Kleinman holds a PhD in Art History and an MA in Art History and Museum Studies from the Virginia Commonwealth University and a BA in Political Science and Studio Art from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Ms. Kleinman will begin her new role on Monday, May 5, 2025.
