Episode 30: Maura Reilly

In this episode I speak with Maura Reilly about her role as the Director of the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, Zimmerli’s latest exhibitionIndigenous Identities: Here, Now & Always,which was curated by artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, as well as Reilly’s focus on redefining what it means to be an ‘activist institution’ and dedicating the Zimmerli’s programming to artists who have been historically marginalized. We also talk about her upcoming book,Museums and Social Justice: Towards Reckoning and Change,which will be released in September 2025 with Thames and Hudson. We cover everything from her time at the Brooklyn Museum where she launched the first exhibition and public programming space in the US devoted entirely to feminist art, Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party, and the blockbuster exhibition Global Feminisms (which Reilly co-curated with Linda Nochlin) to being a maverick and making trouble.

*This episode was recorded prior to the passing of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, who was a groundbreaking artist, curator, activist, and a fervent supporter of other artists and their legacies.