The Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) has named Christine Starkman consulting curator of Asian art. As TMA continues its efforts to broaden the narrative of art history, Ms. Starkman will integrate Asian art into the expansive and global stories the museum seeks to tell. After assessing TMA’s holdings, she will focus on new acquisitions of Asian art to draw on collection strengths and complement existing holdings and will contribute to the museum’s thinking about its upcoming reinstallation.
A recipient of the 2021 Fulbright Scholar Award for Korea, Ms. Starkman is an Asian and contemporary art curator interested in the global, transnational and transcultural histories of modern and contemporary art between Asia, North America and Europe. She has been a researcher and curator at the Art Institute of Chicago, Cleveland Museum of Art and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
“Throughout my career, I have championed Asian and contemporary art through exhibitions, reinstallations and site-specific commissions, driven by the purpose of promoting new scholarship, cultural dialogue and exchange. As a diverse, multi-lingual, multi-ethnic city, Toledo is uniquely positioned to lead new and innovative acquisitions and programs for Asian art and what museums should look like in the 21st century. I am very excited for the opportunity to join the dynamic curatorial team and to connect with the wonderful networks of collectors, art organizations and civic and community leaders to work together in transforming this place where art is made, debated and celebrated.”
“Christine has a strong record of enacting transformational exhibitions and initiatives in myriad institutions across the world,” said Adam Levine, TMA’s Edward Drummond and Florence Scott Libbey director and CEO. “We look forward to her dedicated contributions and perspective as we work to further develop our already significant collection of Asian art.”
Ms. Starkman did doctoral studies in modern and contemporary art at Rice University. She received her master of arts degree in art history (Japanese art and architecture) and bachelor of science degree in biology and political science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
