FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 02/06/2025

WICHITA, Kan.—The Wichita Art Museum is pleased to announce the appointment of Mary Frances Ivey as the new Director of Learning, Engagement, and Partnerships (LEAP). Since joining WAM in 2021 as a Sarachek Curatorial Intern for Wiggins Studies, Ivey has played an integral role in exhibitions, public programs, and community initiatives.

In her new role, Ivey brings a deep understanding of WAM’s collection, coupled with her expertise as an educator and her passion for fostering inclusive, community-driven experiences. She is committed to ensuring art is accessible to all, continuing LEAP’s work in offering innovative programming that connects diverse audiences to the museum’s exhibitions and collection.

LEAP is dedicated to connecting people, ideas, and art through engaging and accessible experiences. The department provides opportunities for visitors of all ages to discover, learn, and interact with the museum’s collection in meaningful ways. Under Ivey’s leadership, LEAP will continue to expand its reach, fostering connections that make art more inclusive and relevant to the Wichita community.

About Mary Frances Ivey
Mary Frances holds a master’s degree in art history from the University of Kansas, where she is a PhD candidate finalizing her dissertation on old age, aging, and ageism in contemporary American women artists’ work. She also recently curated the exhibition Elizabeth Layton: Drawing as Discourse for the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art (Overland Park), the largest solo exhibition of art by Kansan Elizabeth “Grandma” Layton—who was largely self-taught and began drawing at 68—in decades. The exhibition foregrounded Layton’s rebuttal of stereotypes about older people, unpretentious curiosity, and social justice advocacy. While at KU, she also taught a range of undergraduate art history courses, cofounded the graduate student Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion committee, and contributed scholarship to public humanities projects at the Kansas City Public Library and Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Passionate about access to information and the arts for people who are low-vision, blind, and print-disabled, she reads for KU’s Audio-Reader Network.

“The Department of Learning, Engagement, and Partnerships’ ever-growing relationships with Wichita communities and thoughtful interpretation of WAM’s exhibitions in the last few years have moved me as their colleague. I am overjoyed to continue and expand that reach by cultivating new partners, prioritizing all ages in our programs, and meeting the needs of both long-term and not-yet guests. With great affection for WAM’s collection and passion for bridging the gaps of inaccessibility between art and people, I am honored to celebrate people-centered art experiences as Director of LEAP.” — Mary Frances Ivey, Director of Learning, Engagement, and Partnerships

Discover more about LEAP and its programs: https://wam.org/learn/learn-with-us/

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For more information:
Contact:  Naama Marcos | Director of Marketing and Communications | marcos@wam.org| 316-268-4985

Wichita Art Museum: 1400 West Museum Boulevard, Wichita, Kansas USA 67203 | 316-268-4921

The Wichita Art Museum connects people, ideas, and art through remarkable experiences.