New York, NY, April 22, 2019 — The Vilcek Foundation is pleased to announce that President Rick Kinsel will join the board of trustees of New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts. A premier institution for advanced education in art history, archaeology, and conservation, Mr. Kinsel brings to the board vast experience in the corporate and nonprofit art sectors, his important work as a curator, and his commitment to amplifying diverse voices in the arts.
“It is an honor to welcome Rick to the Institute’s Board of Trustees. His wide-ranging experiences in philanthropy and the cultural sphere will make him a valuable member of our board. He will assist us in fulfilling our core mission to educate a more diverse and inclusive generation of scholars and curators, and to enhance our curatorial initiatives,” said Christine Poggi, Judy and Michael Steinhardt Director at the Institute of Fine Arts.
“The Institute of Fine Arts combines a long legacy of elevated scholarship in the arts with a forward-looking approach to education and inclusivity,” says Rick Kinsel, president of the Vilcek Foundation. “I look forward to joining the board of trustees and strategizing ways to develop wider access to advanced education in the fine arts.”
Founded in 1932, the Institute of Fine Arts is a center of graduate training and research in art history, archaeology, and conservation. The Institute has a faculty unrivaled in the breadth and depth of its expertise and in the range of its adjunct lecturers from top museums, research institutes, and conservation studios. The Institute has conferred more than 2,700 degrees, and its alumni hold leadership roles as professors, curators, museum directors, archaeologists, conservators, critics, and institutional administrators throughout the U.S. and internationally.
Mr. Kinsel has been with the Vilcek Foundation since its inception in 2000. Dedicated to raising awareness of immigrant contributions to the United States and fostering appreciation of the arts and sciences, it is the steward of the Vilcek Foundation Art Collections, with holdings in American Modernism, Native American pottery, Pre-Columbian objects, and more; it is also the facilitator of the Vilcek Foundation Prizes, recognizing notable immigrants in the arts and sciences such as Christo, Yo-Yo Ma, and Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Most recently, Mr. Kinsel oversaw the renovation and opening of the Vilcek Foundation’s new headquarters, which will serve as a public cultural center that will host exhibitions examining the influence and importance of pieces within the Vilcek Foundation Art Collections; these exhibitions will be available to the public free of charge. The inaugural exhibition, Ralston Crawford: Torn Signs, will open on May 13.
Mr. Kinsel previously served as Director of Cultural Affairs at Coty, Inc. and Cataloguer in charge of acquisitions at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. He has advised on collections and curated exhibitions for both private and public organizations, among them the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Pen + Brush, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University and a master’s degree in the history of decorative arts from Bard Graduate Center, New York. In addition to his work in the visual arts, he has produced films and plays, edited a cookbook, and judged design contests.
In 2013, Mr. Kinsel received the MAD Visionaries! Award from the Museum of Arts and Design for outstanding leadership and creativity in the arts, and he has served as a visual arts curator for Pen + Brush since 2015. He is a founding member of the Friends of Arms and Armor group at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; a member of the Collections Committee of the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and in 2016, he was honored by the Theatre Communications Group at their annual gala for his work promoting diversity, inclusiveness, and equity in American theatre.