Press Release

Tucson, Arizona – The Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block (TMA) today announced Meg Jackson Fox, Ph.D., as its inaugural Chief of Curatorial and Convergent Practice, underscoring the Museum’s commitment to advancing its mission and strengthening connections with the communities of Southern Arizona. With this appointment, TMA signals a bold direction—one that will deepen partnerships with artists, institutions, and communities across Southern Arizona, while positioning the Museum as a hub for cultural exchange, creativity, and collaboration.

This new role, the first major leadership hire under Jon and Linda Ender Director and CEO Anne Breckenridge Barrett, signals a strategic shift toward aligning the TMA’s curatorial, programmatic and operational work. By evolving the focus of the Museum’s longstanding strengths in collections, exhibitions, education, historic properties, and a nationally recognized approach to community-based curation and programming – the Museum is positioned for a dynamic future.

Jackson Fox currently serves as Director of the Feitler Center for Academic Inquiry and Head of Education at the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago, where as a member of the senior leadership team she works to guide creative direction, institutional strategy, fiscal priorities, and organizational growth. In this role, she has worked to shepherd the Smart Museum through its 50th anniversary year as well as supported strategic planning and a rearticulation of mission and vision.

While at the Smart Museum, Jackson Fox contributed to the development of innovative installations of the permanent collection, advanced interdisciplinary pedagogical models, and played a central role in transformative artist commissions and major institutional projects. A proven leader in fundraising, Jackson Fox spearheaded the award of a $2.45 million grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc.—the largest in the Smart Museum’s history. She launched a groundbreaking provenance research initiative with local, national, and international partners, reimagined campus and community engagement programs, and fostered connections between the Smart Museum, the South Side community, and the broader public.

Jackson Fox previously served as the Curator of Interdisciplinary and Community Practices at the University of Arizona’s Center for Creative Photography, where she worked as senior leadership and piloted curatorial projects for the new Alice Chaiten Baker Interdisciplinary Gallery, unique in its experimental installations and multi-disciplinary storytelling. Prior to her tenure at CCP, she was Assistant Professor of Global Art History at the University of Denver. Jackson Fox has been a key contributor to major institutional projects during her career, such as The Linda McCartney Retrospective and Sessions on Creative Photography: Hazel Larsen Archer, Theaster Gates: Unto Thee, and Afterlives: Engaging Objects of Religious Origin in Museum Collections. She holds a Ph.D. in Art History with a specialization in Contemporary Art and Critical Theory from the University of Arizona; a master’s degree in Art and Museum Studies from Georgetown University, jointly convened with Sotheby’s Institute-London; a master’s degree in Modern European History from the University of Tennessee; and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

“Returning to Tucson feels like coming home,” says Jackson Fox. “I am deeply honored to join the team at the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block, an institution I have long admired for its meaningful contributions to the region’s vibrant cultural landscape. Following the milestone of the Museum’s centennial, I am excited to be a part of this next chapter of TMA, collaborating with artists and communities to co-create projects that reflect and enrich this special place in the Southwest.

At TMA, Jackson Fox will build on the Museum’s strong foundation of curatorial and community practice, advancing a fresh vision that integrates collection stewardship, education, engagement, and exhibition-making. She will work to evolve TMA’s nationally recognized model of community-based curation—a collaborative framework that redefines how exhibitions are developed, interpreted, and experienced by reflecting local voices and activating multiple perspectives.

In 2024, TMA published Community-Based Curation: A Toolkit for Expanding Narratives and Changing Practice, a resource that has been downloaded more than 900 times, adopted in museum studies curricula nationwide, and in 2025 was awarded the Museum Impact Award from the American Alliance of Museums. Building on this achievement, Jackson Fox, will investigate new approaches to how TMA presents and interprets its collections while deepening the Museum’s connection to the communities it serves.

Breckenridge Barrett, shares: “I am delighted to welcome Meg to the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block as we lean into our region and embrace new ways of living out the mission of connecting art to life. My colleagues have built an award-winning practice, and our collections of Latin American, Contemporary, and Art of the American West remain central to who we are. Meg’s leadership will deepen the Museum’s commitment to best practice while opening pathways for dialogue, creativity, and cultural understanding. Her expertise and vision will help us evolve our practice, ensuring that TMA’s work resonates across Southern Arizona and beyond.”

By embracing a model of convergent practice, TMA will not only honor its past but chart a future that brings the region together through the transformative power of art. Board of Trustees President, Josh King adds “The Museum’s renewed focus on financial discipline, operational strength, and curatorial innovation will position us for bold new exhibitions and programs. Meg’s appointment, alongside the leadership of our new CEO, Anne Breckenridge Barrett, brings fresh energy to TMA. The Board looks forward to supporting them as we continue to serve and grow our community.”

Jackson Fox begins her new role on November 3, 2025.

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Wednesday – Sunday
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

About the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block
As an institution built upon the original territories of the O’odham, the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block (TMA) acknowledges the Indigenous Sonoran Desert communities, past and present, who have stewarded this region throughout generations.

TMA connects art to life through meaningful and engaging experiences that inspire discovery, spark creativity, and promote cultural understanding. Founded in 1924, TMA encompasses an entire city block in historic downtown Tucson and is committed to developing quality exhibitions, expanding, and diversifying its collection, providing arts education opportunities, and presenting relevant and innovative programs while broadening public access to the arts. The museum features exhibitions of Modern and Contemporary Art, Latin American art from ancient to today, Indigenous Arts and Art of the American West. A permanent collection of over 10,000 works of art spans continents, centuries, and media. TMA’s campus includes five properties, an art education center and research library, the Museum Store, and the highly acclaimed museum restaurant Café a la C’Art. TMA is a private 501(c)(3) charitable arts and education organization. For additional information visit TucsonMuseumofArt.org or call (520) 624-2333.

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