Educator and art historian Jade Powers is nearly two months into her tenure as the new Hugh Kaul Curator of Contemporary Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art.

Powers, who holds a bachelor’s degree in art history and religious studies from DePauw University and a master’s degree in religious studies from Indiana University, arrived at the BMA from the Harn Museum of Art in Gainesville, Fla. where she served as curator of contemporary art since 2022.

During her time at the museum, Powers managed the activities of the contemporary art department, including installations, acquisitions, and exhibitions. She also helped acquire 20 gifts and purchases for the Harn’s contemporary art collection, many of which represented work by female artists and artists of color.

Prior to her position at the Harn Museum of Art, Powers served as assistant curator of contemporary art at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Mo., where she developed nine permanent collection exhibitions. Projects developed under her supervision included “Deconstructing Marcus Jansen,” a show that investigated the stylistic techniques of painter Marcus Jansen.

Powers was the 2017 to 2018 Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellow at the Saint Louis Art Museum in Missouri where conducted research for an exhibition, “The Shape of Abstraction: The Thelma and Bert Ollie Memorial Art Collection.” The show honored a large gift of abstract art by African-American artists acquired by the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Powers succeeds Hallie Ringle, who joined the BMA as the Hugh Kaul Curator of Contemporary Art in 2018. Last year, Ringle departed the position to serve as the new Daniel and Brett Sundheim Chief Curator at the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute of Contemporary Art.

In an announcement, Dr. Graham C. Boettcher, the R. Hugh Daniel Director of the Birmingham Museum of Art, said he was thrilled to welcome Powers to the museum curatorial staff.

“Her rich knowledge of global contemporary art combined with her proven track record of meaningful and engaging exhibitions will be an invaluable asset to the museum as we continue to build our flourishing contemporary collection around the community we serve,” Boettcher said.

On Dec. 7, Powers will moderate a panel examining the effects of artificial intelligence in the art world. The conversation will feature University of Montevallo professor of new media Collin Williams, artist Travis Rice, and John Fields, the senior director of UAB’s Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts. The museum will also use the AI-powered language model, ChatGPT, as a panelist, offering insights from the perspective of artificial intelligence. Registration for the panel is free and available on the Birmingham Museum of Art website.

Earlier this year, the Birmingham Museum of Art announced the appointment of a new addition to its leadership team. In January, the institution announced Chantal Drake as the James Milton and Sallie R. Johnson deputy director. In addition to managing daily operations, Drake’s responsibilities include oversight of various museum departments and relationship cultivation with government and community partners.