RELEASE DATE: JAN 18, 2023
The Weatherspoon Art Museum at UNC Greensboro is pleased to announce the appointment of Meiyolet (Mei) Méndez in the newly created position of Assistant Director for Strategic Engagement.
Méndez joined the Weatherspoon team on January 9, 2023 in a highly collaborative role to develop and maintain mutually beneficial strategic community partnerships and communications; access, inclusion, and belonging; and other institutionally impactful initiatives. She will also participate ex officio on the newly formed Weatherspoon Art Museum Council.
Juliette Bianco, the Anne and Ben Cone Memorial Endowed Director said, “Mei Méndez is a creative and empathetic leader, and we are delighted to welcome her to UNCG. Méndez’s knowledge and experiences, grounded in developing and sustaining meaningful partnerships and learning from historically and culturally significant objects, will deepen the Weatherspoon’s commitment to access and engagement with our communities.”
Méndez remarks, “I am excited to join the Weatherspoon Art Museum to help develop and nurture existing and new relationships that grow from a shared understanding of the role of art in our cultural imaginations. I look forward to working with my new colleagues to continue advancing the museum’s mission of connecting communities via the art we present, interpret, and collect.”
Méndez holds a BA in history with a minor in English from Florida International University in Miami and a master’s degree in library and information studies from the University of Alabama, where she had an Institute of Museum and Library Studies (IMLS) Fellowship. Until 2017, she served as the Interim Esperanza Bravo de Varona Chair of the Cuban Heritage Collection and Librarian Associate Professor at the University of Miami, Coral Gables. More recently, she served as program officer for the Boston Library Consortium and then project manager for the Eastern Academic Scholars’ Trust. Méndez curated many exhibitions from the Cuban Heritage Collection’s special collections and has published articles and spoken at conferences on library studies, collections and exhibit planning, collaborative instruction, and mentorship.
About the Weatherspoon Art Museum
Mission
The Weatherspoon Art Museum at UNC Greensboro enriches the lives of diverse individuals and connects multiple communities, both on and off campus, by presenting, interpreting, and collecting modern and contemporary art. In recognizing its paramount role of public service, the Weatherspoon fosters an appreciation of the ability of art to positively impact lives.
History
The Weatherspoon Art Museum at UNC Greensboro was founded by Gregory Ivy in 1941 and is the earliest of any art facilities within the UNC system. The museum was founded as a resource for the campus, community, and region and its early leadership developed an emphasis—maintained to this day—on presenting and acquiring modern and contemporary works of art. A 1950 bequest from the renowned collection of Claribel and Etta Cone, which included prints and bronzes by Henri Matisse and other works on paper by American and European modernists, helped to establish the Weatherspoon’s permanent collection.
In 1989, the museum moved into its present location in The Anne and Benjamin Cone Building designed by the architectural firm Mitchell Giurgula. The museum has six galleries and a sculpture courtyard with over 17,000 square feet of exhibition space. The American Alliance of Museums accredited the Weatherspoon in 1995 and renewed its accreditation in 2005 and 2015.
Collections + Exhibitions
The permanent collection of the Weatherspoon Art Museum is considered to be one of the foremost of its kind in the Southeast. It represents all major art movements from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. Among the nearly 6,200 works in the collection are pieces by such prominent figures as Henry Ossawa Tanner, Edward Weston, Joseph Stella, David Smith, Jackson Pollock, Elizabeth Catlett, Louise Nevelson, Gordon Parks, Sol LeWitt, Robert Mangold, Cindy Sherman, Adrian Piper, Betye Saar, Amy Silman, Nick Cave, Jennifer Steinkamp, and Sanford Biggers. The museum regularly lends to major exhibitions nationally and internationally.
The Weatherspoon also is known for its dynamic exhibition program. Through a lively annual calendar of exhibitions and a multi-disciplinary educational program for audiences of all ages, the museum provides an opportunity for visitors to consider artistic, cultural, and social issues of our time—enriching the life of our university, community, and region.
UNC Greensboro
Located in North Carolina’s third largest city, UNC Greensboro is among the most diverse, learner-centered public research universities in the state, with nearly 18,000 students in eight colleges and schools pursuing more than 150 areas of undergraduate and over 200 areas of graduate study. UNCG continues to be recognized nationally for academic excellence, access, and affordability. UNCG is ranked No. 1 most affordable institution in North Carolina for net cost by the N.Y. Times and No. 1 in North Carolina for social mobility by The Wall Street Journal — helping first-generation and lower-income students find paths to prosperity. Designated an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, UNCG is a community-engaged research institution with a portfolio of more than $67M in research and creative activity. The University’s 1,100 faculty and 1,700 staff help create an annual economic impact for the Piedmont Triad region in excess of $1B. For additional information, please visit uncg.edu and follow UNCG on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Weatherspoon Art Museum
UNC Greensboro
1005 Spring Garden Street
Greensboro, NC 27412, (336) 334-5770, weatherspoon@uncg.edu
For more information or press images, contact:
Loring Mortensen, (336) 256-1451, lamorten@uncg.edu
