Kathy Halbreich ( ; born 1949) is an American art curator and museum director.
Early life and education Halbreich was born to Betty Stoll and Sonny Halbreich in 1949. She earned her BA from Bennington College.
Career Halbreich was director of the Albert and Vera List Visual Arts Center at MIT, where she designed a new arts building with architect I.M. Pei. She was then the curator of contemporary art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
In 1991, Halbreich was hired as director of the Walker Art Center. Under her leadership, the museum broadened its reputation for developing emerging talent, hosting avant-garde performances and exhibitions. She oversaw a $73.8 million expansion at the Walker and announced her retirement in 2007. She was hired as an associate director of the Museum of Modern Art in 2008. At MoMA, Halbreich curated a 2014 retrospective of German artist Sigmar Polke and a 2018 Bruce Nauman exhibition.
In September, 2017 Halbreich was appointed director of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.
Other activities Halbreich was a member of the juries that selected Kerstin Brätsch for the Edvard Munch Art Award (2017)Alex Greenberger (14 November 2017), Kerstin Brätsch Wins 2017 Edvard Munch Art Award ARTnews. and Doris Salcedo for the Nomura Art Award (2019).Maximilíano Durón (31 October 2019), Doris Salcedo Wins $1 M. Nomura Award, World’s Largest Art Prize ARTnews. She has also served on the selection committee that chose the artist exhibiting at the American pavilion at the Venice Biennale.Carol Vogel (3 August 2004), American Art Is Adrift For Biennale In Venice New York Times.
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