Earlier this year, the Georgia Museum of Art welcomed Ari Engle to its staff as visitor services assistant. Engle is responsible for assisting the visitor services department with all day-to-day operations, including but not limited to coordinating with other museum departments during special events, maintaining files and records, working closely with gallery guides and providing administrative support.
Engle has a diverse educational background in art, art education, history, museum studies, and film and media. She earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in printmaking and fiber arts and a bachelor of arts degree in art history at the University of Missouri and studied media and film at Korea University. Engle shared that studying abroad in Korea was the most influential part of her college career.
“It changed who I was as a person because I had to learn independence,” she said. “I did not know Korean or anything about the culture there, so I was just kind of thrown into this new experience, and it taught me a lot about trusting myself.”
When she lived in Missouri, she worked as the visitor experience and events coordinator and shop manager at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, which involved managing gallery guides, planning events and running the gift shop. As a lead educator for the Saint Louis Art Museum, she ran tour programs and workshops. “I facilitated the fifth-grade program, which focused on this program called No Place for Hate, which was teaching people about diversity and anti-racism,” she said. Additionally, Engle has worked with a diverse array of artists at galleries in St. Louis and has had a hand in pieces that range from fiber installations to robotic sculptures.
Engle recently decided to move to Athens to be closer to her fiancé and his family. “I think that the people here are my favorite,” she shared. “My boss is definitely one of those people. I feel like I mesh well with everyone here. Everyone’s been very welcoming.”
In addition to her job at the museum, Engle works at a teahouse in Tallulah. Her supervisor, Adam Clark, shared that she makes a mean cup of coffee.
In her free time, she enjoys hiking, music, reading and making art. Her artwork takes a stance against consumerism by focusing on handwork and slow processes. She began with intaglio printmaking, which involves etching into copper plates, because she wanted to make prints that couldn’t be re-created. She later became interested in fiberwork and began weaving installations with metal. Eventually, she was filling rooms with wire installations and tapestries that defied the infrastructure of the built environment and created new spaces for audiences to engage with.
Engle brings a broad range of expertise to the Georgia Museum of Art — from art education to coffee-making to Korean film — and we are excited about what we will accomplish with her on our team.
Authored by:
Nabiha Rahman
