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Luis Croquer is the Henry & Lois Foster Director and Chief Curator of the Rose Art Museum. He discusses how the inclusion of more art historians from diverse backgrounds is helping rewrite the stories of artists previously overlooked by collecting institutions. He says centering the work of these artists also complicates the whole idea of art history – what are movements, who are innovators, and who gets to decide?
Brandeis University named Luis A. Croquer as the Henry and Lois Foster Director of the Rose Art Museum, in July 2017. Previously, Croquer was Deputy Director of Exhibitions, Collections, and Programs at the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington in Seattle, and the Director and Chief Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.
A native of El Salvador who has lived and worked around the world, Croquer possesses deep curatorial expertise and knowledge of the national and international arts community. He combines intellectual rigor with boldness, and is regarded as a visionary thinker in the realm of contemporary art and ideas.
Founded in 1961, the Rose Art Museum is among the nation’s premier university museums dedicated to modern and contemporary art. Upholding Brandeis University’s mission to unite creative expression with academic inquiry, the Rose ensures its unparalleled collection of postwar art is an integral part of the university’s educational experience, fueling research by students, faculty and other scholars. The museum also stands as a significant civic institution, providing artistic programs of relevance to Waltham, Greater Boston and beyond.
Croquer leads all artistic and programming initiatives at the Rose as well as the museum’s management. With a broad mandate to further integrate the Rose into the educational and cultural life of Brandeis, he provides curatorial leadership regarding the growth, care, development, and display of the museum’s permanent collection, and advances national and international partnerships and scholarship.