Arts Briefs: A Sojourner Truth biographer comes to the Valley, a new take on a noted play, and more

Historian and Sojourner Truth biographer Nell Irvin Painter will be in Florence June 9 to talk about her work, including her new book, “I Just Keep Talking.” 

Historian and Sojourner Truth biographer Nell Irvin Painter will be in Florence June 9 to talk about her work, including her new book, “I Just Keep Talking.”  Photo by Dwight Carter/Nell Painter website

Historian and Sojourner Truth biographer Nell Irvin Painter will be in Florence June 9 to talk about her work, including her new book, “I Just Keep Talking.” 

Historian and Sojourner Truth biographer Nell Irvin Painter will be in Florence June 9 to talk about her work, including her new book, “I Just Keep Talking.” 

Kristina L. Durocher is the inaugural visual arts director for the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Kristina L. Durocher is the inaugural visual arts director for the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Photo by Perry Smith/courtesy UMass Fine Arts Center

Members of Tiny Glass Tavern, a cross-genre musical ensemble, perform at the Edwards Church in Northampton.

Members of Tiny Glass Tavern, a cross-genre musical ensemble, perform at the Edwards Church in Northampton. Photo by Caterina Kenworthy

Easthampton’s Oxbow Gallery is hosting illustrations this month from Valley painter Kate Spencer’s children’s book, “The Cat Who Walked the Camino.”

Easthampton’s Oxbow Gallery is hosting illustrations this month from Valley painter Kate Spencer’s children’s book, “The Cat Who Walked the Camino.” Image courtesy Kate Spencer

Published: 06-06-2024 7:30 PM

AMHERST — Kristina L. Durocher, who earned an master’s degree in art history from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and has over two decades of experience leading museums, has joined the leadership team of the school’s Fine Arts Center.

Durocher will serve as the center’s inaugural visual arts director, for which she’s tasked with providing “leadership and vision,” as press notes put it, for the center’s three visual arts spaces: the University Museum of Contemporary Art, the Augusta Savage Gallery, and the Hampden Gallery.

For the past 14 years, Durocher served as director of the Museum of Art at the University of New Hampshire, where she curated six to eight exhibits annually.

According to UMass, the museum received a number of awards and and grants during Durocher’s tenure, including from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

“We’re confident that with Kristina’s unifying leadership, there is no limit to what our visual arts team can accomplish,” UMass Fine Arts Center Director Jamilla Deria said in a statement.

Durocher has also served since 2020 as president of the Association of Academic Museum and Galleries, a national organization.

— Steve Pfarrer