The Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston welcomes a pair of key new staff members to the organization in September 2022. Erika Mei Chua Holum will be the new Cynthia Woods Mitchell assistant curator, and Antonie C. Evans will be the museum’s new design & digital resources manager. Both will play crucial roles in the Blaffer’s continued development and success, as well as the museum’s ongoing efforts in community outreach and collaboration.

Holum is a curator, art historian and poet originally from Houston, returning to her hometown from Chicago, where she is currently working and studying. She has previously held positions at the Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago Public Libraries, Fulbright Malaysia, European Cultural Academy, and 32° East | Ugandan Arts Trust. Holum has also contributed to projects and exhibitions around the world, such as “makibaka! Fifty Years of Filipino-American Youth Activism” at Alief Art House in 2021 “Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in 2020, the Second Edition of the Lagos Biennial in Nigeria in 2019 and Obscura Festival of Photography in Malaysia in 2018.

Holum’s research focus is on intimacies and interconnected (hi)stories revealed through artistic practices, ways of gathering and archival methods following forms of historical displacements. She holds a Master of Arts in Museum and Exhibition Studies from the University of Illinois Chicago and is completing a master’s degree in library and information science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Evans is a Houston-based digital designer, artist and curator who marries multiple streams of creativity into artistically-driven design, organization and outreach. Evans was most recently a participant in the Space Taking Artist Residency powered by Fresh Arts, in which he orchestrated and promoted “MythoFutuRiddim” at Winter Street Studios. This successful project was conceived as a multidisciplinary pop-up exhibition featuring emerging artists who explore ritual, cultural mythology, Afrofuturism and constructed identity. Evans also worked as a lead designer and web developer for Bounce Marketing & Consulting in New York, a designer and social media manager for Third Root Community Health Center in Brooklyn, and a graphic designer for New York University. He has been active in art museum work as well, serving as a docent at both the Brooklyn Museum and the Moody Center at Rice University, as well as creating designs for the New York Arts Residency and Studios Foundation.

Jane Dale Owen Director and Chief Curator Steven Matijcio is enthusiastic about what Holum and Evans will introduce to the Blaffer and how they will generate new perspectives as the organization enters its 50th anniversary year in 2023.

“Erika and Antonie bring a compelling mix of fresh, youthful energy to the Blaffer, combined with a substantial amount of experience they have both accumulated in their burgeoning careers,” Matijcio said. “The Blaffer has made significant strides in the past three years to bring Houston artists and curators into dynamic conversation with the larger art world, and I am confident Erika and Antonie will push this mandate even further.”

The Blaffer Art Museum will open new exhibitions by Monira Al Qadiri on September 23 and Paul Anthony Smith on October 22, as well as presenting the group show “Cared for” this fall, in conjunction with the Healing Arts Houston symposium at UH occurring Sept. 29 through Oct. 1.

Please visit https://blafferartmuseum.org/ for more details.

About the University of Houston

The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter for excellence in undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation's fourth-largest city and one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse regions in the country, UH is a federally designated Hispanic- and Asian-American-Serving institution with enrollment of more than 47,000 students.