A native Kansan, Kent Michael Smith serves as the director of the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art at Kansas State University. With nearly 25 years of experience, Smith has held leadership positions at art museums across Ohio, Missouri, Kansas, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Academic art museums and galleries are often the conduit of thought and discourse between their parent institution and the surrounding community and the greater world. As a result, we are commonly the safe space where difficult conversations are shared, important relationships are forged, and ideas grow without limitation. I am fortunate to be in a career and a place where these are our daily experiences. As Kansas’s state rep for AAMG, I look forward to working with my colleagues across the state (and beyond) to strengthen our communities and help our individual and collective institutions thrive.
-Kent Michael Smith