COURTESY MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
The Museum of Modern Art in New York has promoted Thomas J. Lax to a new position as curator of performance and media art, up from the associate curator role he occupied since 2014. Over the past few years, Lax helped organize some of MoMA’s most celebrated performance-related shows, including a Judson Dance Theater survey and a commission for Maria Hassabi.
In a statement, Lax said, “I am thrilled to be named curator at this vital moment, when MoMA is asking renewed questions about how art matters in the world and in our everyday lives. I look forward to working closely with artists, collaborating with museum colleagues, and contributing to a history of modern and contemporary art animated by black feminist thought.”
Among Lax’s other curatorial credits at MoMA are the 2015 edition of PS1’s Greater New York quinquennial, which he organized with Douglas Crimp, Peter Eleey, and Mia Locks, and a solo show for Steffani Jemison. Prior to joining MoMA, Lax had been an assistant curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem.
On Instagram on Wednesday, Stuart Comer, the department’s chief curator, revealed that the department has also promoted Martha Joseph, who will now serve as its associate curator. She had previously been a curatorial assistant at the museum.