NEW ORLEANS, LA.- William Andrews, Director of The Ogden Museum of Southern Art/University of New Orleans, announces the appointment of staff members to expanded positions to further promote the mission of the Museum. As of March 15, 2012, Libra LaGrone, Curator of Southern Music, was named Deputy Director. Elizabeth Bowie was named Curator of the Center for Southern Craft and Design/Director of Retail Business Operations and Development. Rachel Ford, a former sales associate and project coordinator at the Ogden Museum Store, was promoted to Manager of Retail Operations.

Libra LaGrone
With strong family ties to southwest Louisiana, Florida native Libra LaGrone joined the staff of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in June 2003 as the grand opening coordinator and was named Curator of Southern Music in 2005.

LaGrone attended the University of North Alabama, receiving in 1997 a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science/History and a minor in Photography. Prior to joining the Ogden Museum, she received a New Orleans CityBusiness Power Generation Award in 2002 while working as the special events coordinator at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans.

Under her direction, Ogden After Hours, a weekly music series held Thursday nights employing more than 300 musicians a year, were honored by Offbeat magazine and Gambit Weekly. The Museum was also named by Downbeat magazine as one of the top venues in the nation to experience live music. LaGrone has co-curated exhibitions such as Art and Jazz: Preservation Hall at 50 and Will Henry Stevens – Waterways. As the Museum’s Deputy Director, she will continue her responsibilities as Curator of Southern Music.

Elizabeth Bowie
A native of Louisiana, Elizabeth Bowie received her Bachelor of Arts in Art History from the University of Alabama, as well as a Bachelor of Arts equivalent from the University of Oxford, Oxford, England. Bowie received her Master of Arts Administration from University of New Orleans in 2009. While working on her master’s degree, she was a Graduate Assistant at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. After graduation, she worked as a gallery director for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, but returned to the Ogden Museum in July 2009. In September 2009, she was named the Assistant Curator of Southern Craft and Design/Manager Retail Operations. In addition to her managerial duties, Bowie co-curated 15 exhibitions—including the acclaimed Art of the Cup—featuring 96 artists. In her new position as Curator of Southern Craft and Design/Director of Retail Operations and Development, she manages more than 600 vendor and artist accounts, supervises the Museum Store staff, and curates exhibitions in the Ogden Museum’s Center for Southern Craft and Design.

Rachel Ford
Rachel Ford was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She received a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 2004 and a Masters of Arts in Art Administration from the University of New Orleans in 2011.

Before moving to New Orleans in summer 2009, Ford worked as the press assistant to the Cuyahoga County Commissioner’s Office and as a communications assistant for the Historic Royal Palaces in London, England, where she was allowed to live within the walls of the Tower of London. She has worked for the Ogden Museum of Southern Art as a sales associate and project coordinator since March 2010. She is now its Manager of Retail Operations.

“We are extremely thrilled to advance these passionate individuals into expanded roles within the Ogden Museum and to have such capable leadership in these areas,” says Ogden Museum Director William Andrews. “This group will direct how the museum augments its presence through programming, exhibitions and events, and will promote the mission to a much larger audience. Specifically, we are strengthening our commitment to The Center for Southern Craft and Design and expanding its national relevance by producing larger independent craft and design curatorial projects.”