The Walker Art Center's executive director, Olga Viso, appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the National Council on the Arts

MINNEAPOLIS, November 21, 2013The Walker Art Center's executive director, Olga Viso, has been confirmed by the Senate and appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Council on the Arts, the advisory body of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Two additional members have been confirmed: Ranee Ramaswamy, Founder and Co-Artistic Director of the Ragamala Dance Company, and Rick Lowe, Founder of Project Row Houses. These individuals will bring their varied experienceranging from contemporary art curatorship, to classical Indian dance, and creative placemakingto help the NEA advance its mission to support artistic excellence, creativity and innovation in communities across the country. The National Council on the Arts advises the chairman on agency policies and programs. It reviews and makes recommendations to the chairman on applications for grants, funding guidelines, and leadership initiatives.

Olga Viso became executive director of the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, in January 2008, after 12 years at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, as a curator of contemporary art and ultimately as director. At the Walker, Viso oversees innovative artistic programming across the disciplines, including visual arts and design, performing arts, and film and video. As a curator of contemporary art, Viso is known for her scholarship in contemporary Latin American art and the work of the late performance-based artist Ana Mendieta. Recent curatorial projects include a major survey of contemporary American sculptor Jim Hodges, which she co-curated with Jeffrey Grove at the Dallas Museum of Art. At the Hirshhorn, she organized or co-organized significant exhibitions of leading artists, including Robert Gober, Guillermo Kuitca, Ana Mendieta and Juan Muñoz. Prior to joining the Hirshhorn, Viso was a curator at the Norton Museum of Art (West Palm Beach, Florida), and held several curatorial and administrative positions at the High Museum of Art (Atlanta, Georgia). She currently is on the board of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, New York and has been a trustee at the American Association of Museum Directors. Viso received her masters degree in art history from Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia) in 1992.

Read the full NEA press release here: http://arts.gov/news/2013/national-endowment-arts-announces-three-new-members-national-council-arts.

For more information about the National Council on the Arts and its members, visit: http://arts.gov/about/national-council-arts.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector. To join the discussion on how art works, visit the NEA at www.arts.org.