معرفی
Juliana Rowen Barton is a historian, curator, and cultural organizer currently serving as Director of the Center for the Arts and Curator of Gallery360 at Northeastern University. She holds a PhD and MA in History of Art from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA with Highest Distinction in American Studies and Art History from the University of Virginia. Her career spans prestigious institutions including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Barnes Foundation, and Center for Architecture.
Barton's research centers on the confluence of race, gender, and design, with significant contributions through her work on the Designing Motherhood project. This multi-faceted initiative includes an award-winning book published by MIT Press (2021), a touring exhibition series, an open-source curriculum, and a storybanking initiative that explores how 20th-century design has impacted reproduction, birth, and childrearing across cultures and communities. Her scholarly work extends to numerous exhibitions examining critical issues in design, architecture, and social justice.
Her recent exhibitions demonstrate a trajectory toward increasingly intersectional approaches, combining design history with critical race theory, gender studies, and decolonial perspectives. The Designing Motherhood project has received significant attention from major media outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, Vogue, and Smithsonian Magazine, establishing Barton as a leading voice in design history and curation.
- Reset: Towards a New Commons Exhibition Production Grant / The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts (2021)
- Writer in Residence / Township 10 (2021)
- Designing Motherhood Exhibition Production Grant / The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts (2021)
- Designing Motherhood Teaching Arts Grant / The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation / University of Pennsylvania (2020)
- Leading Edge Fellowship / American Council of Learned Societies (2020-2021)
Barton has developed extensive programming through her roles at Northeastern University's Center for the Arts and previously at the Center for Craft, where she served as an ACLS Leading Edge Fellow. Her work bridges academic research with community engagement, emphasizing the role of design in social transformation. She has curated numerous exhibitions that explore the relationship between design, social justice, and cultural identity, often focusing on underrepresented narratives in design history.
Through Gallery360, Barton has established collaborative projects with student co-ops and artists, creating hands-on learning opportunities that connect academic study with practical curatorial experience. Her leadership has positioned the Center for the Arts as a dynamic hub for interdisciplinary exploration at Northeastern University.
