ROANOKE, VA.-Georganne Bingham, executive director of the Art Museum of Western Virginia, today announces the appointment of David Brown to the position of deputy director for art, overseeing and directing collections and exhibitions, following a national search. Brown will join the Art Museum staff on July 16.

Brown comes to the Art Museum from the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem where he served as chief curator and director of The HOME House project. SECCA is widely known for presenting some of the best contemporary art between New York and Miami.

“It is with great delight and enthusiasm that I announce David’s appointment. We are thrilled to welcome him to the Art Museum to lead the museum’s collections and exhibitions programs,” said Bingham. “He brings to the position a wide range of experience and significant expertise, excellent community building skills, and new and innovative ideas for exhibitions and collection interpretation that will be critical as the new museum undergoes tremendous programmatic growth and transformation in anticipation of the opening of our new building next year.” Added Bingham, “David understands what it will take to create a world-class art museum that will attract national and international visitors.”

“I am looking forward to being a part of this exciting and ambitious new project, and my efforts will be geared to making the Art Museum a home for every segment of this bustling community,” said Brown. “Our job as a museum team is to create a sense of wonder and awe, much in the same way that artists have been doing for years.”

Exhibitions curated by Brown in recent years include Roy Lichtenstein: Man Hit by the 21st Century; Lesley Dill’s Tongues on Fire: Vision and Ecstasy; David Byrne: What Is It?; and Yoko Ono: En/Trance (U.S. premiere). The HOME House project, a multi-year initiative that began in 2003, challenges artists, designers and architects to propose new designs for single family houses for low- and moderate-income families. Over 440 designs have been submitted from individuals and teams in the U.S. and from 16 other countries. SECCA is working with community partners in Winston-Salem and in other countries to build some of these innovations.

Prior to his tenure at SECCA, Brown served as the curator at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and as the director of the exhibitions department at the Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. He has lectured and published extensively. Brown earned his B.A. from Old Dominion University and received his M.F.A. degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.

The Art Museum’s curatorial and registrar departments will report to Brown. The Art Museum currently is searching for a curator with expertise in nineteenth- and twentieth-century American art to replace Susannah Koerber, who left in February. Koerber served as chief curator 2000-2007.