In a Surprise Move, the Bronx Museum’s Director Deborah Cullen-Morales Leaves Her Post After 18 Months

The Bronx Museum of the Arts
finds itself searching for a new director for the second time in
just over two years. Longtime director Holly Block died in October
2017 after 11 years in the corner office; Deborah
Cullen-Morales took the
reins in June 2018,
leaving her post as director of Columbia University’s Wallach Art
Gallery. 

Now, Cullen-Morales is out, to
the surprise of the New York art world. “It was an 18-month contract,” Cullen-Morales
told Artnet News by phone. The term of her contract was not
publicized when the museum announced her hire.

“It was very challenging to step
in after Holly, and there had been a gap, and it was difficult to
follow in her footsteps, though I was honored to try to do so,”
said Cullen-Morales. “I think the museum is now in a much stronger
position. I think it’s ready for a new phase.”

Deputy Director Klaudio
Rodriguez will serve as interim director.

“We are all deeply grateful for
Deborah’s contributions to The Bronx Museum of the Arts,” said
Joseph Mizzi, chair of the board of trustees, in a statement. “She
led our Museum with integrity and poise through a difficult and
challenging transition following the tragic passing of Holly
Block.” 

The statement credits
Cullen-Morales with helping to secure the final $3.9 million in
capital funding needed for an upcoming renovation project, as well
as supervising the opening of a new Tribeca
incubator for the
museum’s AIM professional training program for artists. She also
oversaw several exhibitions, including two currently on view, each
devoted to a beloved photographer: Alvin Baltrop, who focused on
gay life along New York’s Hudson River Piers, and Henry Chalfant,
who extensively documented the graffiti scene and hip-hop culture
in New York in the 1970s and ‘80s.

Cullen-Morales brought a strong
track record to the Bronx, having previously diversified the
Wallach’s programming with exhibitions of artists from Latin
America, the Caribbean, and of the African Diaspora. She launched
the Uptown Triennial, an exhibition devoted to artists living north
of Ninety-Ninth Street, which garnered praise from the
New York
Times. She also saw
attendance increase sevenfold in her tenure there.

As for her departure from the
Bronx Museum, whatever the circumstances, Cullen-Morales was
determined to leave things on a high note. She says she’s departing
to pursue independent projects. “I live in the Bronx and I love the
Bronx and the rest of uptown,” Cullen-Morales said, “and I will
always be here to support the museum.”

The post In a Surprise Move, the Bronx Museum’s Director Deborah
Cullen-Morales Leaves Her Post After 18 Months appeared first
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