<b>Carolyn Grosch </b>is the Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum. She<b> </b>has over 20 years of experience in the museum field with expertise in collections management, curatorial practice, and academic museum programs. Prior to her appointment at the WCU Fine Art Museum, Grosch worked as the Associate Curator at the Asheville Art Museum in Asheville, North Carolina; the Registrar and Assistant Curator at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, Connecticut; and as both an educator and Assistant Registrar at the Tufts University Art Gallery in Medford, Massachusetts. She holds a Masters Degree in Art History and Museum Studies from Tufts University with specializations in contemporary art and collections care. From 2018-2024, she served on the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Preservation Consortium.
<b>In her role as Assistant Professor of Practice</b> at Western Carolina University, Grosch has taught an Exhibition Practicum course that gives students the opportunity to develop a professional art exhibition and learn valuable museum skills. Grosch believes in the value of interdisciplinary and object-centered learning and strives to make the Museum a site where disciplines across campus can come together in discussion. Her curatorial research has centered on site-specific installation, contemporary photography, the intersections of contemporary art and pop culture, and those themes and artists of importance to Western North Carolina, including studio glass and Cherokee art and culture.
<b>Her recent exhibitions</b> include <i>At The Table</i>, an exhibition exploring ideas of community, power, and representation; <i>Spark of the Eagle Dancer: The Collecting Legacy of Lambert Wilson</i>, which brought together over 140 works of contemporary Native American art from the collection of one of Western North Carolina’s most notable art enthusiasts; and <i>The Way I'm Wired</i>: <i>Artist Reflections on Neurodiversity</i>, a campus-theme inspired exhibition that gave visitors a glimpse into different ways of perceiving the world and how neurological differences can both help and hinder artistic practice.