VMFA names new curator for African Art
5/19/2022, 6 p.m.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has named Dr. Ndubuisi C. Ezeluomba as its new curator to efforts to “re-imagine” VMFA’s African Art collection.
Mr. Ezeluomba was the Françoise Billion Richardson Curator of African Art at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) from 2018 to 2022. He is returning to the Artur Ashe Boulevard museum, where he previously served as the Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Research Specialist in African Art.
“We are delighted to have Endy rejoining the curatorial team at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts,” said VMFA’s Director and CEO Alex Nyerges. “He will advance the vision for the museum’s renowned African art collection, an invaluable re- source for Virginians who wish to learn more about African art and culture.”
Mr. Ezeluomba is charged with the development, interpretation and stewardship of VMFA’s African art collection. The collection contains more than 1,200 works of art, including ceramics, figures, masks, paintings, photographs, ritual objects and textiles from more than 100 cultures throughout the African continent.
VMFA’s new curator was raised in Benin City, Nigeria, where he initially trained as an artist. He earned a Ph.D. in art history from the University of Florida, Gainesville, and received the University’s Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Award for “Olokun Shrines: Their Functions in the Culture of the Benin Speaking People of Southern Nigeria.”
