08/26/2026
Thank you to The News-Gazette for featuring Stephanie Smith in today's paper—and mentioning tomorrow's Opening Night festivities (8/27, 5–7:30p).
MEET KRANNERT ART MUSEUM'S NEW DIRECTOR STEPHANIE SMITH
by Carolyn Maille-Peterson, August 26, 2026
The start of a new school year is always hectic, but for Stephanie Smith, the new director of the Krannert Art Museum, it is especially frenetic.
She is acclimating to her new job and community, gearing up for the museum’s opening-night parties, attending listening sessions with community members, and planning her September wedding.
Smith, who grew up in St. Louis — she’s a Cardinals fan, but promises she can still play nice with Cubs fans — has worked at institutions across the United States and Canada. Most recently, she was an independent curator and arts consultant, and is a 2025-26 visiting fellow at the University of Chicago’s Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society.
Previous roles include interim director of the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago and chief curator of the Art Gallery of Ontario, one of the largest art museums in North America. She was also the inaugural chief curator and a member of the team that established the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University.
As someone who specializes in university art museums, she was attracted to KAM because “it felt clear both that the museum is already in a strong place, and that I could be of service in shaping its next chapter.” She was also interested in what she calls “the central Illinois context.” She expanded on that, saying “I’ve never lived in this part of the state, but it already feels like a good fit for a Midwesterner who grew up in St. Louis, with relationships across the region, ongoing research in Chicago, and a lot of curiosity about our broader region’s histories, cultures and ecologies.”
Her expertise is in contemporary art, particularly its intersection with social engagement. “Over the past two decades, I’ve worked alongside many colleagues who value art’s role in social change and prioritize collaborative methods (that are) grounded in relationships and responsive to place, community and critical public issues,” says Smith. “This connects to my broader interest in approaches that stretch what a museum can be, change how we welcome visitors, and open new ways for people to connect to art, ideas and each other.”
In fact, she won an award for an exhibition she curated called “Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art,” and she was delighted to find out that another campus fine arts facility — the Krannert Center for Performing Arts — has “radical hospitality” as one of its core tenets. At its most basic, radical hospitality is about welcoming everyone without judgment, but particularly those on the margins. For Smith, radical hospitality is central to the museum’s mission. “Especially in challenging times, it’s important for all cultural institutions to step up and welcome everyone with generosity and care.”
Museums and the visual arts they house are important, says Smith, because they can help people “see the world and each other a little differently. A work of art can slow you down, spark questions, or open a conversation with a stranger. Multiply that across a community and you can see why it matters,” she says. “Museums at their best are crucial public spaces where all of that can happen.”
In keeping with this idea of museums as public spaces, KAM is hosting two large-scale events where people can meet Smith and see what the museum has to offer. She invites the public to come out for its free “Opening Night at the Museum!” party, which takes place from 5-7:30 p.m. this Thursday and includes “art, music, snacks and good company.”
Earlier in the week, she will be participating in KAM Fest 2026!, which is geared toward new and returning university students. One of her goals is to engage with a “larger percentage” of Illinois undergraduates. This introductory event helps move the needle in that direction. She also hopes to connect more students to the museum through their coursework. “Since I’ve accepted this role, I’ve heard from many alumni about how time visiting or working at Krannert Art Museum changed their lives,” she says. “A first step toward that kind of transformational experience is often simply walking through the door for a class.”
Her goal of enlarging the circle of engaged communities extends beyond campus borders. In that vein, the museum scheduled “Cafe Conversations” this summer at coffee shops around town as well as at the museum. These events allowed members of the public to meet Smith and relay their thoughts about the museum.
At a recent Café Conversation at Elm City Coffee in Urbana, close to a dozen people sat around a large table chatting with one another and Smith. During the hour-plus session, Smith asked a few broad questions and then spent the rest of the time walking from group to group, listening to what attendees had to say about the museum and taking notes. This was one of three sessions she held this summer, with plans to do more in September and October.
These meet-and-greets are part of Smith’s commitment to the wider community and to creating a space that is open to all. “At every level, I’m hearing a call for our work to serve our communities and advance the public good,” says Smith. “Art and museums can be crucial channels for both those calls.”
Her takeaway from the conversations she’s had thus far is that there is a lot of love for the museum and excitement about its future. Of course, there is always room for improvement, as she has learned through her own observations and conversations with others.
Parking is a perennial issue, which she acknowledges can make a visit less appealing to people who live off-campus. “As one small practical step, your readers should know that nearby parking is free after 5 p.m. and all day on weekends,” says Smith, pointing out that the museum stays open until 8 p.m. Thursdays when class is in session, and is also open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Smith uses the MTD bus service, and highly recommends it as a low-cost and easy way to access the museum.
Beyond practical considerations like parking, there are also bigger questions with which Smith and her staff are grappling: “wider questions of visibility and how we extend invitations that reach across campus and our communities” are a concern. While she says she has heard from many people who believe that the museum is “an essential part of our communities,” she also knows there are plenty of people who don’t know where the museum is located or that it even exists. Increasing its profile while ensuring that it is a welcoming place for students and community members alike is a priority for Smith. It is also important to her that it be a place where the art helps start conversations.
“University art museums are at their best when they serve both campus and community,” she says. “That ‘both/and’ approach is the secret sauce.”
As Smith settles into her new role, she is “excited to work with all those who care about this museum to address one big question: What can Krannert Art Museum uniquely contribute to its local communities and the wider field?”
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URBANA — The start of a new school year is always hectic, but for Stephanie Smith, the new director of the Krannert Art Museum, it is especially frenetic.
