LU appoints new Dishman Art Museum director
Dennis Kiel will join the administrative staff of Lamar University as the new director of the Dishman Art Museum on Feb. 16, 2015.
“Dennis Kiel brings a wealth of experience, imagination and vision to the Dishman,” said Russ Schultz, dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication. “With this it is our hope that the Dishman will become a greater component of the cultural well-being of this area – not only of the campus, but the greater community as well.”
A respected curator, Kiel comes to Lamar University from Charlotte, N.C., where he served as interim executive director and chief curator at The Light Factory Contemporary Museum of Photography and Film. The Light Factory was founded in 1972 as a photographers’ cooperative and for more than 40 years has presented a rich variety of work by local, national and international artists.
Before joining The Light Factory, Kiel was the associate curator of prints, drawings and photographs at the Cincinnati Art Museum for 24 years. He also taught the history of photography at Northern Kentucky University as an adjunct professor for a number of years.
Kiel holds a master’s degree in art history from the University of Cincinnati and a bachelor of fine arts in graphic design from Ohio University.
He served as a member of the National Endowment for the Arts panel titled “American Masterpieces: Visual Arts Touring” and has participated in portfolio reviews at Houston Fotofest, “Our World” for Photo Alliance, Photolucida, Review Santa Fe, SlowExposures Photography Festival and Atlanta Celebrates Photography. He was also a juror for Photolucida’s Critical Mass 50 in 2011-2013 and the sole adjudicator for the Tennessee Arts Commission’s 2014 Individual Artist Fellowship in Media: Photography.
The Dishman Art Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and is located at 1030 E. Lavaca, Beaumont, Texas. Free museum-dedicated parking is available in front of the Dishman during museum hours.
