MOCAD Names Jova Lynne as Inaugural Artistic Director

The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) has named Jova Lynne as MOCAD’s first artistic director. She assumes the role as of April 3. Lynne has a long history with the museum, joining the organization in 2017 as a Ford Foundation curatorial fellow. In 2019, she became the Susanne Feld Hillberry senior curator.
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Jova Lynne
Jova Lynne

The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) has named Jova Lynne as MOCAD’s first artistic director. She assumes the role as of April 3. Lynne has a long history with the museum, joining the organization in 2017 as a Ford Foundation curatorial fellow. In 2019, she became the Susanne Feld Hillberry senior curator.

Lynne will co-lead the museum along side Marie Madison-Patton, who became COO effective Jan. 1, and has held leadership roles at the museum since 2012. Lynne will lead the curatorial team to develop the museum’s artistic vision, exhibition schedule and accompanying programming and Madison-Patton will oversee the museum’s operations and development activities. MOCAD recently brought on Paul Andrews to serve as director of Development. Andrews comes to MOCAD from the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, N.Y., where he served as chief development officer.

“Detroit is a city that is close to my heart and has played an integral role in my growth as a curator and artist,” says Lynne.

She completed her bachelor’s degree in video art and education at Hampshire College and earned a master of fine arts in photography from Cranbrook Academy of Art. In her tenure at MOCAD, she curated Nep Sidhu: Paradox of Harmonics; 2+2=8:Thirty Years Heidelberg, and Dual Vision.

She Previously worked at the Museum of Moving Image in Queens, N.Y., and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.