Leslie Przybylek Selected as ExhibitsUSA Curator of Exhibitions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 14, 2004

Leslie Przybylek Selected as ExhibitsUSA Curator of Exhibitions

Kansas City, MO – ExhibitsUSA, the national museum service division of Mid-America Arts Alliance, announces the appointment of Leslie Przybylek as Curator of Exhibitions.

In her new position, Przybylek will identify and implement new traveling exhibitions for ExhibitsUSA. Her other duties include coordination of exhibition development, budgets, and timelines; collaboration with curators, lenders, and host institutions; and assistance with issues of exhibition contents and tour format. Przybylek will also supervise Curatorial Assistant Denise Smith.

Przybylek previously worked for seven years as Curator of Collections and Exhibits at the Fort Smith Museum of History in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. During her tenure there, she conceptualized, researched, designed, and installed interpretive exhibits; secured grant funding for exhibitions; and initiated and collaborated on interpretive programming. In addition, she oversaw collections management and historical research and twice served as the museum’s Interim Director. Przybylek taught as an adjunct instructor in art history at the University of Arkansas, Ft. Smith, and was very active in the Arkansas Museums Association.

Her other museum experience includes working as curator for the Baldwin-Reynolds House Museum/Dr. J.R. Mosier Office at the Crawford County Historical Society in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and as adjunct instructor and slide library coordinator for the Department of Art & Art History, Gettysburg College, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

“We are very pleased that Leslie has accepted the position as Curator of Exhibitions,” said Lin Nelson-Mayson, Director of ExhibitsUSA. “She gained an incredibly broad range of exhibitions experience at the Fort Smith Museum of History. Leslie has also worked very hard to make connections between her exhibitions and the people in the Ft. Smith area though some very innovative programming. This shows us that she understands the goals of our organization: we value the creation of exhibitions that are able to reach out and involve communities, to make a difference in people’s lives, and Leslie truly appreciates the challenges and rewards of that process.”

Przybylek matriculated Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude from Gettysburg College with a BA in art/art history. She earned an MA in art history from the University of Delaware in Newark, where American art and sculpture were the focus of her graduate studies.

ExhibitsUSA, Mid-America Arts Alliance’s national museum service division, reaches more than one million visitors in more than 100 communities across the United States each year with a broad range of touring exhibitions. These exhibitions travel to museums, libraries, and galleries of all shapes and sizes throughout the country. ExhibitsUSA’s mission is to create access to an array of arts and humanities experiences, nurture the understanding of diverse cultures and art forms, and encourage the expanding depth and breadth of cultural life in local communities.

Mid-America Arts Alliance is a nonprofit organization that supports and stimulates cultural activity primarily in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. M-AAA originates and manages regional, multiregional, national, and international arts and humanities programs. Major support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, participant state arts agencies, and leading foundations and corporations. For further information, visit the Mid-America Arts Alliance Web site at www.maaa.org or contact Sarah McGreer at sarah@maaa.org.

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