Kimberly Drew

Kimberly Drew is an American art influencer and writer. She is best known as the former social media manager for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and her use of the social media handle MuseumMammy. Drew released her first book, This Is What I Know About Art in June 2020,[1][2][3] as part of a children series from Penguin, and published an anthology titled Black Futures with New York Times staff writer Jenna Wortham in December 2020.

Kimberly Drew
Drew models for Chromat during New York Fashion Week 2018
NationalityAmerican
Alma materSmith College
Occupation(s)Curator

blogger

Former social media manager for the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Years active2011–present
Known for@MuseumMammy Instagram account
Black Contemporary Art blog on Tumblr

Early life and education

Drew grew up in Orange, New Jersey in a family of artists.[4][5] In 2008, she graduated from the boarding school St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island.[6] During her second year at Smith College, Drew had an internship at Studio Museum in Harlem with Thelma Golden, which influenced her later choice of concentration and informed her career path.[2] In 2012, Drew graduated from Smith College with a B.A. in Art history and Africana studies, and a concentration in Museum Studies.[5]

Career
Drew speaking at Art+Feminism at MoMA, 2017

In March 2011, Drew started the Tumblr blog Black Contemporary Art while still in college.[5] She and others posted about black artists who were featured on museum websites but had no digital presence on Tumblr, so that they "were part of a recorded history."[7][8] Drew has referred to herself as a "a curator of "black art and experiences" and has been recognized by Artsy for advocating for racial equality in the art world.[9] She has spoken about the importance of tying art to activism and protests, specifically in the immediate aftermath of the high-profile murders of Black Americans such as George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, and the shootings of Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade.[10]

In July 2015, Drew was hired as the Associate Online Community Producer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.[11] She held the position until November 2019.[12]

In 2016, Drew curated the White House's Instagram account during the 2016 South by South Lawn festival.[13][14] That July, Drew, along with writers Taylor Renee Aldridge and Jessica Lynne and art historian Jessica Bell Brown, organized a project called Black Art Incubator,[15] a two-month long program of book exchanges, art critiques, and panel discussions.[16]

In 2018, Drew modeled for the Chromat Spring/Summer 2019 runway during New York Fashion Week.[17][18]

In February 2022, the Pace Gallery announced that Drew would be joining as Associate Director.[19]

Books
See also: Black Futures

Beginning their connection through Twitter’s direct-messaging, Drew co-edited and released the anthology Black Futures with journalist Jenna Wortham.[20] After five years in the making, the collective book encapsulates a multitude of art forms by more than 100 Black creators responding to the question, “What does it mean to be Black and alive, right now?” Their creation stamps a time when the height of Black empowerment coexists with longing systemic oppression.[21] Drew and Wortham’s goal is to bring to light how Black culture surrounds everyday society and how Blackness is limitless.[20] Black Futures was published by Chris Jackson's One World imprint at Random House in December 2020.[22][23][4]

On June 2, 2020, Drew released her first book, This Is What I Know About Art, a book for young adults under the Penguin Workshop imprint.[24]

Personal life

Drew resides in Brooklyn[8] and is a lesbian.[25][26] Her partner is Chase Strangio, a civil rights lawyer.[27]

References
  1. Tammy Kim, E. (July 25, 2016). "Art of Protest". The New Yorker. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  2. St. Félix, Doreen (November 27, 2015). "The Lenny Interview: Kimberly Drew, aka @MuseumMammy". Lenny Letter. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  3. WITW Staff (November 30, 2015). "Kimberly Drew's curation brings black artists to the forefront". The New York Times. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  4. SSENSE (November 21, 2017). "Kimberly Rose Drew on the Limits of Utopia". ssense. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  5. Simpson, April (Fall 2016). "Alumnae Spotlight. Shaking the Canon: Internet tastemakers Kimberly Drew '12 brings overrdue attention to black contemporary art and artists". Smith Alumnae Quarterly. Smith College, Office of Alumnae Relations. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  6. "News Roundup: Kimberly Drew '08". St. George's School. July 22, 2016.
  7. "Meet The Social Media Star Whose Taste The Art World Follows". The FADER. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  8. Miller, Rachel (March 13, 2017). "Brooklyn 100 Influencer: Kimberly Drew, MET Museum". Brooklyn Magazine. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  9. Oswaks, Molly (December 7, 2018). "Kimberly Drew Is a Curator of Black Art and Experiences". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  10. Drew, Kimberly (June 2, 2020). "Kimberly Drew: "I Need to Use My Platform to Offer Something Worth Reading"". Teen Vogue. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  11. Ambar (August 9, 2016). "The Art of Social Media with Kimberly Drew". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  12. Walker, Noel Cymone. "Curator of Cool Kimberly Drew Talks Owning Our Culture". Essence. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  13. Agrawal, Nadya (November 25, 2016). "Curator Kimberly Drew on Black Art, Social Media, and Taking Selfies in Museums". Broadly. Vice Media. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  14. Russeth, Andrew (October 3, 2016). "The Met's Social Medial Manager, Kimberly Drew, is on the White House's Instagram Account Today". ARTnews.
  15. "Where the Met's Kimberly Drew Sees the Art World in 10 Years | artnet News". artnet News. October 17, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  16. "BLACK ART INCUBATOR | Recess". www.recessart.org. July 14, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  17. Drew, Kimberly (September 9, 2018). "💦 take me back to @chromat". Twitter. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  18. Patel, Shyam (September 8, 2018). "The Chromat Runway Continues to Champion Body Diversity". Paper. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  19. "Kimberly Drew Joins Pace as Associate Director | Pace Gallery". www.pacegallery.com. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  20. "Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham on Black Futures". YouTube. Chicago Humanities Festival. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  21. Drew, Kimberly; Wortham, Jenna (2020). Black futures (First ed.). New York: One World. ISBN 9780399181139.
  22. "Black Futures by Kimberly Drew, Jenna Wortham: 9780399181139 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved June 4, 2020. Reviews for Black Futures
  23. Simpson, Koa Beck, Lorna (March 8, 2017). "These Women in the Arts Don't Take No for an Answer". Vogue. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  24. Bergado, Gabe (October 29, 2019). "I'm Obsessed with These Book Covers Featuring Some of Today's Leading Activists". Teen Vogue. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  25. Talusan, Meredith (November 2, 2017). "Two Queer Black Women Find Sisterhood Beyond the Gender Binary". them. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  26. Loos, Ted (June 16, 2020). "What Has Lockdown Meant for L.G.B.T.Q. Artists and Writers?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  27. "Also.Also.Also: Chase Strangio and Kimberly Drew Are the Cutest Queer Love Story You'll See Today!". March 23, 2021.
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