WESTPORT – The highly respected senior museum leader Robin Jaffee Frank, PhD, will lead Museum of Contemporary Art/Connecticut in Westport (MoCACT) as its next executive director.
Frank will guide the museum into its next phase with a focus on curatorial excellence, operational strength, greater visibility, and deeper community engagement, according to board President Jodi Felton. Frank replaces Ruth Mannes, who stepped down after five years at the helm in early 2025.
“Robin is an innovative leader whose strategic expertise will position the Museum for long-term success. Her arrival marks the start of a vibrant new era for the institution and the communities we serve,” said Felton, who co-chaired the Executive Director Search Committee with MoCA\CT Board member Kathryn Turley-Sonne.
She described Frank’s appointment as “transformational” and welcoming a “new chapter” for the nonprofit. “Robin brings both fresh vision and seasoned leadership at a pivotal moment for MoCA\CT. She understands how museums operate, how they evolve, and how leadership must balance ambition with practical execution,” she said.
The museum presents thought-provoking exhibitions and programs that enrich the cultural landscape of Connecticut and the greater region. Through the visual arts, performing arts, arts education, and community engagement, MoCA\CT connects diverse audiences with art.
Frank, a longtime Westport resident, is honored to help shape MoCA/CT’s future and make it a hub for learning, creativity, music, visual and performing arts, education, and community.
“My priorities for the first year are to chart a strategic path forward that prioritizes curatorial, programmatic, educational, and operational excellence; a healthy revenue mix; a marketing and communications strategy to raise the museum’s local and national visibility and reputation; and to increase membership and attendance,” Frank said. “In a time when cultural and educational institutions across America are facing unprecedented funding challenges, I will bring to MoCA\CT experience as an effective fundraiser and persuasive steward, having cultivated supporters and secured substantial grants at other institutions.”
A cultural strategist, Frank has held senior curatorial roles at major institutions and has organized, taught, published, and lectured extensively on American visual culture and public engagement in the arts.
“Through my service for the past year on the Visual Arts Advisory Committee, I’ve developed an abiding affection for MoCA\CT,” Frank said. “As the Executive Director, I’m honored to be able to help realize its enormous potential. The Museum enriches Fairfield County and beyond by offering thought-provoking art exhibitions, world-class musical performances, and exceptional arts education.”
She said she hopes to bring to MoCA\CT a commitment to multidisciplinary, expansive storytelling that communicates ideas to diverse audiences in accessible ways that connect the arts to real-world issues and topical subjects. “All of us at MoCA\CT share a commitment to education and community outreach,” she added. “Through thoughtful engagement with our audiences, our exhibitions and programs increase understanding of art’s possibilities and resonance.”
Frank previously served as chief curator and curator of American paintings and sculpture at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford and earlier as curator at the Yale University Art Gallery. In addition, she’s organized exhibitions that traveled to museums nationally, lectured and published widely on American visual culture, managed dynamic curatorial teams, and collaborated with artists, educators, designers, conservators, and librarians. She is the author of the award-winning “Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008.”
Also, she taught at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, worked as guest curator for the New York Historical Society, and guided exhibitions and programs at the Silvermine Arts Center in New Canaan.
According to Felton, Frank’s leadership aligns with MoCA\CT’s mission of fostering connections through inclusive, inspiring, and diverse artistic experiences.
“Her deep ties to Westport and Connecticut ensure that the museum remains connected to the community, while her museum expertise supports thoughtful, mission-driven programming,” Felton said. “I believe she will strengthen MoCA\CT’s role as a cultural connector – bringing artists, audiences, and ideas together in ways that reflect both local identity and broader contemporary conversations.”
Frank says she is committed to making visible the incredible talent that exists in Westport and beyond: “MoCA\CT serves the local community, the broader region, the tri-state area, and beyond, while also elevating Connecticut’s role in the cultural conversation.”
