American curator Lauren Haynes is Director of Curatorial Affairs and Programs at the Queens Museum. Prior to joining the Queens Museum, Haynes worked at museums across the United States including Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Studio Museum in Harlem. Haynes is a specialist in contemporary art by artists of African descent – her curatorial vision aims to challenge traditional narratives and push boundaries within the art world, embracing both established artists and emerging talents, bridging the gap between tradition and innovation. Haynes was a 2018 Center for Curatorial Leadership fellow and a recipient of a 2020 ArtTable New Leadership Award. Since 2022, Haynes has been a member of the board of the Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) and AAMC Foundation.
She and Zuckerman discuss having work study jobs at college museums, navigating artist interactions and needs, deliberate care, growing and developing a contemporary program, tv as a hobby, dreaming of rest and moments of pause, looking for patterns, and how kids confidently talk about art!