Amanda H. Hellman, director of the Vanderbilt University Museum of Art in Nashville, Tennessee, since 2022, has been named director of the Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State, effective Jan. 2, 2026.

Hellman was previously the curator of African art at the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University from 2013 to 2022. Her exhibitions there include “And I Must Scream” (2022); “Between the Sweet Water and the Swarm of Bees” (2016); and “Southern Connections: Bearden in Atlanta” (2014). While an adjunct professor at Agnes Scott College, she curated “Strata: an installation by Shannon Collis” (2021) and “Press Here” (2021) at the Dalton Gallery. Recent exhibitions at Vanderbilt include “Holding Impact: An Installation by Amie Esslinger” (2023) and “New Art, New Directions” (co-curator, 2022).

According to Hellman, it is a pivotal time for arts and cultural organizations in the United States.

“This is an important moment for museums to demonstrate how they support and create community, foster creativity and critical thinking, and inspire wonder,” Hellman said. “I am thrilled to join the Palmer Museum of Art and the College of Arts and Architecture where these values are central to the work they do.”

According to B. Stephen Carpenter II, Michael J. and Aimee Rusinko Kakos Dean of the College of Arts and Architecture, Hellman brings a commitment to community collaboration to her new position.

Read more in the original announcement on the Penn State website here.