Courtenay Finn Appointed Chief Curator of Crystal Bridges
11June 25, 2026
TheCrystal Bridges Museum of American Artin Bentonville, Arkansas, hasnamedCourtenay Finnas its new chief curator. Finn was most recently chief curator and director of programs at California’s Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA; now the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art). She will begin her new job—which additionally encompasses Momentary, the museum’s performing arts wing—on August 24. She succeeds Austen Barron Bailly in the role; Bailly earlier this year was promoted to deputy chief director of curatorial affairs.
Finn, who helped shepherd OCMA’s 2022 move to itsnew, Morphosis-designed buildingin Costa Mesa, joins Crystal Bridges in the wake of amajor expansionthat added 114,000 square feet to its campus.
“I am thrilled to be joining the incredible team at Crystal Bridges, especially at this moment of growth and expansion,” Finn said in a statement. “I have watched the extraordinary work being done since the museum’s founding, and I am excited to build on our shared commitment to exhibitions, programs and initiatives that increase access, spark curiosity and transform and expand traditional narratives.”
While at OCMA, Finn helped to shape the curatorial program and acquired more than a hundred works for the museum’s permanent collection. Alongside Christopher Y. Lew and OCMA associate curator Lauren Leving, she curated the 2025 edition of the museum’s California Biennial. Prior to joining the California institution, Finn served as chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland; senior curator at the Aspen Art Museum, Colorado; and curator at New York nonprofit Art in General.