Deana Haggag

Deana Haggag (born 1987)[1] is an American arts organization leader. She is the program officer in arts and culture at Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.[2] Formally, Haggag was the President and CEO of United States Artists (2017–2020),[3][4][2] and was Executive Director of The Contemporary (2013–2017) in Baltimore, Maryland.[5]

Deana Haggag
Born (1987-02-25) February 25, 1987
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Alma materRutgers University–Newark,
Maryland Institute College of Art
Websitedhaggag.com

Early life and education

Haggag was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1987,[6] to parents that were Muslim Egyptian immigrants.[7][8] She is Muslim and first-generation Egyptian-American. Haggag grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey.[9]

In 2009, Haggag received a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University–Newark, where she majored in Art History and Philosophy.[10][11][12] In 2013, Haggag earned a Master of Fine Arts at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, where she majored in Curatorial Practice.[13]

Career

From 2017 until May 2020, Haggag served as the President and CEO of United States Artists in Chicago, which provides US$50,000 "fellowships to artists working in architecture and design, crafts, dance, literature, media, music, theater and performance, traditional arts, and visual arts."[2][14] She had formerly been Executive Director of The Contemporary from 2013 until 2017.[3]

At The Contemporary, Haggag was credited for reviving the museum (formerly "The Contemporary Museum") and turning it into one of the most vital cultural institutions in Baltimore.[15] At age 26, she became Executive Director and sole employee, relaunching the organization following its closure for approximately 18-months.[16] During her tenure, the museum's staff grew to five employees and its budget increased from US$40,000 to over US$500,000.[16] Additionally, under her leadership, The Contemporary commissioned four-award-winning large-scale art projects, including "Bubble Over Green" by Victoria Fu; "Ghost Food" by Miriam Simun; "Only When It's Dark Enough Can You See The Stars" by Abigail DeVille; and "The Ground" by Michael Jones McKean. The museum also created a number of artist resources to bolster the cultural community in the region.[16]

Haggag's work has been praised in Vogue,[7] Cultured Magazine, Artspace,[17] Hyperallergic[18] among other publications. At Vogue, Rebecca Bengal praised Haggag's role in national efforts to protect arts funding:[7]

As arts funding faces a devastating blow, it's an ominous time to be an artist or to take a leading role in nonprofit fundraising, but it's also a time when the arts need a fresh kind of fire, something that Haggag embodies with passionate devotion and an approach that feels both thoughtful and innovative. At 30, she is considerably younger than most of her peers, coming off a career largely focused on curating in New York City, Cairo, and Baltimore, where she most recently headed the traveling museum The Contemporary.

— Rebecca Bengal, Vogue magazine

Haggag was named Artistic Director of the 2020 Seattle Art Fair, founded by Paul Allen in Seattle, WA, before it was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.[19]

References
  1. "Oral history interview with Deana Haggag, 2020 August 14". Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. August 14, 2020. Archived from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  2. Sharp, Sarah Rose (March 14, 2021). "United States Artists CEO Deana Haggag Steps Down, Will Join Mellon Foundation". Hyperallergic. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  3. "Deana Haggag President and CEO of United States Artists | artnet News". artnet News. January 26, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  4. Greenberger, Alex (January 26, 2017). "Deana Haggag Named President and CEO of United States Artists". ARTnews.com. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  5. Capps, K. (July 16, 2013). "Baltimore's Contemporary Museum Reopens with New Director". Art in America magazine. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  6. Kelley, Quinn. "Female Trouble podcast: Deana Haggag, executive director of The Contemporary (episode 10)". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  7. "Meet the Woman Leading the Fight to Protect the Arts in Trump's America". Vogue. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  8. Kung, Jess (June 3, 2019). "The Ramadan Podcast Where Muslims Take It Up A Notch From 'Islam 101'". NPR.org. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  9. "Haggag and Akins". Art F City. May 1, 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  10. "Deana Haggag". MICA.edu. Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Archived from the original on July 20, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  11. "The Head of United States Artists on Why Giving Away Money Is More Complex Than You Think". Artnet News. January 19, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  12. "United States Artists Announces Deana Haggag As President and CEO". Artforum.com. January 26, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  13. Ober, Cara (January 26, 2017). "Deana Haggag Has Accepted a Position as President and CEO of United States Artists". BmoreArt, Baltimore Contemporary Art. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  14. "United States Artists Taps Baltimore-based Deana Haggag as President and CEO | Culture Type". January 31, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  15. Paper, Baltimore City. "Baltimore City Power Rankings: Deana Haggag, Mayor Pugh, BROS, and more". citypaper.com. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  16. Britto, Brittany. "The Contemporary museum director Deana Haggag to step down". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  17. "Deana Haggag on How Funding Artists "Dismantles the Disgusting Rhetoric" of the (NEA-Less) Trump Administration". Artspace. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  18. "Being Contemporary in Baltimore". Hyperallergic. December 12, 2013. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  19. "Seattle Art Fair".
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