Bonnie Clearwater will lead the NSU's Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale | Florida, into an era of transformation

One of the most prominent figures in South Florida's art world, Clearwater is the Director and Chief Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), North Miami. During her 18-year tenure, she transformed MOCA into a museum of international stature, recognized for its original and groundbreaking exhibitions, collection, education, and public programs. Clearwater has championed both emerging and established artists, who have become among the leading artists of our time, and played a key role in establishing Miami as a preeminent international arts center and destination.

Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) President and CEO, George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D., has said of the incoming director: “Bonnie has an exceptional track record as a museum director, curator, and scholar, and strikes the perfect balance as a creative visionary and administrator with the ability to engage and inspire people of all backgrounds. Capitalizing on NSU’s academic resources, she will develop new opportunities for synergy between the museum and the university, forging exciting connections between art and education. We look forward to her leadership at NSU’s Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale.”

"The integration of lifelong learning and a love of the arts has been central in my professional career and personal life, and is at the heart of NSU's Museum of Art's mission," said Clearwater. She was present at the opening of the museum's building in 1986. "It's a gem of a museum that deserves worldwide attention," she said. "I am looking forward to working with the museum's deeply committed Board of Governors and staff, along with NSU's leadership and faculty. Together, we will build upon the strong programs already in place to raise the museum's standing regionally and nationally as a dynamic center of culture, education, and community engagement."

As Executive Director and Chief Curator of MOCA, North Miami, Clearwater developed a permanent collection of pivotal works and created an innovative art exhibition program of emerging and international artists that attracts worldwide attention. MOCA developed an innovative education program that serves 20,000 children, teens, and adults annually, and was recognized at the White House with the National Medal for Museum and Library Services.

Clearwater is the curator of MOCA’s forthcoming exhibition “Tracey Emin: Angel Without You”, which marks Emin’s first-solo art museum show in the U.S. She will continue to serve in her role as curator through the exhibition’s opening during Art Basel Miami Beach in December 2013.

Prior to MOCA, Clearwater was Executive Director of the Lannan Foundation Art Programs, Los Angeles, and Director of the Lannan Museum in Lake Worth, FL. For five years, she served as Curator of the Mark Rothko Foundation, New York, where she established and developed the Rothko Research Center, and negotiated gifts of the collection to 34 museums, including a major gift of over 200 works to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. She was also the Curator of the Leonard and Evelyn Lauder Collection, New York for five years, and a Consultant to the Peter Norton Family Foundation, Santa Monica. Clearwater holds an M.A. in Art History from Columbia University.