The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) announces the appointment of Elie Glyn as the museum’s new director of exhibition design and production. In this key role, Glyn will lead the exhibition design and production team, contributing to the museum’s commitment to delivering innovative and immersive art experiences for visitors.
“We are delighted to welcome Elie Glyn to the remarkable exhibitions team at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts,” said VMFA’s Director and CEO Alex Nyerges. “His extensive background in creative leadership and interdisciplinary design will undoubtedly contribute to the museum’s continued success in producing captivating shows. We look forward to the transformative impact he will have on our exhibitions and future installations of the permanent collection.”
Glyn brings more than thirteen years of experience working as a multidisciplinary leader, specializing in successfully conceptualizing, managing and implementing exhibition design projects for other world-class art museums.
Previously, Glyn was the inaugural assistant director for exhibitions at Harvard Art Museums in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where, from 2017 to 2023, he solidified his reputation as a creative force in exhibition design, production and installation.
Among many career highlights as an exhibition designer, Painting Edo: Japanese Art from the Feinberg Collection (2020) was the largest exhibition ever presented in the institution’s history. Funerary Portraits from Roman Egypt: Facing Forward (2022) was featured in the Wall Street Journal’s “Best Art of 2022” and Dare to Know: Prints and Drawings from the Age of Enlightenment (also 2022) was included in the Boston Globe’s annual “Best of the Arts” survey.
Prior to Harvard, Glyn honed his skills as an exhibition designer at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California, from 2010 to 2017.
“As a multidisciplinary creative leader, Elie has devoted his career to enriching the visitor experience and creating spaces that bring art and ideas to life,” said VMFA’s Chief Curator and Deputy Director for Art and Education Michael Taylor. “Elie is joining VMFA at a crucial time in the museum’s history, as we embark on an expansion with a new wing that will include a second large-scale exhibition space and increased gallery space for the permanent collection. We are thrilled to have Elie come to the museum and lead our talented exhibition design and production team into an exciting next chapter in VMFA’s history.”
The upcoming building expansion excited Glyn, too — and is something for which he is well prepared, having worked on the Getty Villa’s 2018 reinstallation, as well as the renovated African and East Asian galleries at Harvard Art Museums.
Drawn to the museum’s culture of creative freedom and team-based collaboration, Glyn says he was also attracted to the opportunity to shape how individuals experience works of art in VMFA’s galleries.
Glyn’s education in furniture design at the Rhode Island School of Design ultimately informed his unique career pathway, which integrates design, production and creative philosophy.
“Exhibition design is a process of mediating between parameters of art and space,” said Glyn. “Our job is to make the building and gallery architecture work together with artwork to tell a compelling story and to enrich the visitor experience.”
For more information about the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, visit www.vmfa.museum.
