By Scott Anderson

The University of Chicago, David J. Levin, Senior Advisor to the Provost for Arts, and Lawrence Zbikowski, Chair of the Department of Music, are pleased to announce that Sarah Curran has been appointed as the Executive Director of UChicago Presents, effective June 1.

Curran is an arts consultant and curator who has served as Interim Executive Director of UChicago Presents for the last year. Her broad arts knowledge covers music, theater, dance, contemporary performance, visual arts, and film. Her curatorial practice includes fostering interdisciplinary work and socially responsive programming.

From 2017 until 2019, Curran served as the Director of the Center for the Arts at Wesleyan University, known for its adventurous programming and academic integration. She simultaneously served as Managing Director of Wesleyan’s Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance (ICPP), a low-residency Master’s degree program offering artist-centered curatorial training in time-based art. Prior to her time at Wesleyan, Curran spent eight years with Stanford Arts as the Director of Programming and Partnerships, and then as the first Associate Director of the Stanford Arts Institute.

She has worked with The Tribeca Film Festival, Martha Graham Dance Company, the Chicago Humanities Festival, and North Lawndale College Prep Charter High School. Sarah holds an MA in Performance Studies from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, an AB from Princeton University, and certificates in Curatorial Practice in Performance from Wesleyan University and management from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

As UChicago Presents enters its 80th season, Curran will lead the organization into its next chapter. Drawing on UChicago Presents’ long history of bringing high-caliber musical performances to campus, she hopes to expand UCP’s breadth of programming and deepen connections with campus partners.

“I see UChicago Presents as a vital platform for providing accessible, innovative, world-class performances to audiences on campus, in the community, and beyond,” Curran said.