Art Movements: Meet MoMA's New Photo Chief
Makeda Best will join New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) as chief curator of Photography starting in September, according to Hyperallergic’s 2026 roundup column “Art Movements.” Best is currently deputy director of curatorial affairs at the Oakland Museum of California and previously served as photography curator at the Harvard Art Museums from 2017 to 2023; she holds an MFA from CalArts and a PhD from Harvard focused on Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner. MoMA has had a dedicated photography department since 1940 but has lacked a permanent leader since Clément Chéroux departed in 2022, with senior curator Roxana Marcoci serving as interim head. The same roundup reported that the Asian Cultural Council awarded over $1.6 million in grants to 70 grantees across four fellowship categories.
From This Briefing
This story was covered in Biennial Blowups and Gallery Model Meltdowns