Tennessee State Museum Adds Curators in Decorative Arts, Social History, Textiles and Fashion
Annabeth Hayes, Brigette Jones and Amanda McCrary Smith Bring a Wealth of History and Interpretation Experience to the State Museum
Nashville, Tenn. -- February 28, 2020 -- The Tennessee State Museum is pleased to announce the appointment of three new curators to its staff in the areas of decorative arts, social history, and textiles and fashion.
Annabeth Hayes, curator of decorative arts, earned her B.A. in History from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, and her M.A. in Public History from Middle Tennessee State University. While at MTSU, she also served as a graduate assistant for the Center for Historic Preservation, where she worked on local history projects across the state. A native of Jackson, Tennessee, she most recently worked for the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area as a research curator. She previously completed the 2017 Summer Institute in Southern History and Culture at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts as well as two internships with Colonial Williamsburg.
Brigette Jones, curator of social history, works to preserve and interpret the vast social histories of the many diverse cultures that inhabit the state of Tennessee, including but not limited to, African American history, Latino history, and Middle Eastern history. Jones is a Memphis native and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2019, she gained certification through the National Association of Interpretation and the Smithsonian Institute: National Museum of African American History and Culture to become an official interpreter of the African American experience. Most recently, she served as Director of African American Studies for the Belle Meade Plantation Museum in Nashville.
Amanda McCrary Smith, curator of textiles and fashion, earned her B.A. in History and American Studies at Lipscomb University, her M.A. in American Cultural and Intellectual History at Middle Tennessee State University, and her graduate certificate in Costume and Textiles Collection Management from California State University at Long Beach. She comes to the Museum from a long career in collegiate instruction. She taught previously at Watkins College of Art, Design, and Film and most recently at Nashville State Community College, where she focused on American, European, and Tennessee History. Smith is currently pursuing her doctorate in Museum Studies at Middle Tennessee State University with an emphasis in material culture.
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About Tennessee State Museum
The Tennessee State Museum, on the corner of Rosa L Parks Blvd. and Jefferson Street at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, is home to 13,000 years of Tennessee art and history. Through six permanent exhibitions titled Natural History, First Peoples, Forging a Nation, The Civil War and Reconstruction, Change and Challenge and Tennessee Transforms, the Museum takes visitors on a journey – through artifacts, films, interactive displays, events and educational programing – from the state’s geological beginnings to the present day. Additional temporary exhibitions explore significant periods and individuals in history, along with art and cultural movements. The Museum is free and open to the public Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Thursdays from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. For more information on exhibitions and events, please visit tnmuseum.org.
Contact:
Joe Pagetta, Dir. of Communications
joseph.pagetta@tn.gov
(615) 741-5134