Mary Ceruti

Mary Ceruti is the Executive Director of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN. Before joining the Walker in January 2019, Ceruti served for 19 years as the Executive Director and Chief Curator of SculptureCenter in Long Island City, NY. During her SculptureCenter tenure, she spearheaded two major building projects, including a $5 million capital campaign in 2014. Mary has organized dozens of solo and group exhibitions of contemporary art, and curated special projects and commissions by more than 50 emerging and established artists, including Nairy Baghramian, Sanford Biggers, Monica Bonvicini, Alejandro Cesarco, Liz Glynn, Leslie Hewitt, Mike Kelley and Michael Smith, Katrín Sigurdardóttir, Xaviera Simmons, and Mika Tajima, among many others. Prior to SculptureCenter, Mary worked as an independent writer and curator with various arts institutions and agencies, including the San Francisco Arts Commission and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. From 1992-1998, Mary served as the Director of Programs at Capp Street Project, an acclaimed international residency program where she commissioned large-scale, site-specific installation projects in San Francisco by artists such as Janine Antoni, Mona Hatoum, Gary Hill, Cildo Meireles, and Fred Wilson. She began her career as a Curatorial Assistant at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Mary holds a dual BA in Philosophy from Haverford College and in Art History from Bryn Mawr College. She received her MA from the Inter-Arts Center at San Francisco State University after pursuing an in-depth study of community-based public art projects. Mary helped establish the Long Island City Cultural Alliance, was formerly on the Board of Directors of the Long Island City Partnership, and has served on numerous cultural advisory boards, including the Sunnyside Yard Steering Committee and the Park Avenue Sculpture Committee.