ExhibitsUSA Selects Arthur McSweeney to Lead "NEH on the Road" as Humanities Project Manager

ExhibitsUSA Selects Arthur McSweeney to Lead
“NEH on the Road” as Humanities Project Manager

Kansas City, MO – ExhibitsUSA (EUSA), the national traveling exhibition division of Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA), announces the appointment of Arthur McSweeney as Humanities Project Manager. McSweeney will manage “NEH on the Road,” a pilot program that will reformat four large National Endowment for the Humanities exhibitions into smaller versions for a national tour. The program is supported by a three-year, $1 million NEH grant.

As Humanities Project Manager, McSweeney will serve as a facilitator between EUSA, the NEH, and all the museums from which the exhibitions will originate. McSweeney will work alongside a national humanities exhibition consultant and will be assisted by EUSA's registrarial, marketing, and administrative staff to coordinate exhibition development. He will also facilitate the reformatting and fabrication of the exhibitions and conduct the required follow-up related to the NEH grant.

“Art’s managerial experience and his extensive knowledge of traveling exhibitions make him an excellent candidate for this position,” said Lin Nelson-Mayson, Director of ExhibitsUSA. “I am very pleased that he will be managing ‘NEH on the Road.’”

An experienced artist and educator, McSweeney began his career as an art handler at Fine Arts Express in Fort Worth, Texas. He also has worked as an adjunct instructor of drawing/design at Longview Community College in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, and has taught drawing/art appreciation at Cooke County College in Gainesville, Texas. For the past nine years, he has served as ExhibitsUSA Director of Operations.

“Accepting this position is an exciting step for me,” said McSweeney. “I am looking forward to working with the fine institutions that are participating in ‘NEH on the Road’. It will be a great challenge assisting in the development of these touring exhibitions, and I feel fortunate to be able to be a part of this project.”

McSweeney earned a BA in studio art and English from Boston College; a BFA in painting from the University of Kansas; and an MFA in painting and drawing from the University of North Texas, Denton. While earning his MFA, he was a graduate teaching fellow in drawing. He is married to Edana Elder McSweeney, Co-Director of HELP (Professional Development) at M-AAA. They have two children.

Mid-America Arts Alliance, founded in 1972, is a nonprofit regional arts organization based in Kansas City, Missouri. It is governed by a board of directors drawn from its partner states of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Major support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, participant state arts agencies, and leading foundations and corporations. For further information, contact Sarah McGreer at (816) 421-1388.