Myriam Springuel

Myriam Springuel is the director of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), and Smithsonian Affiliations. SITES is the oldest traveling exhibition program in the world, and Smithsonian Affiliations builds strategic partnerships with more than 200 organizations in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Panama.

For more than 65 years SITES has been the Smithsonian’s main exhibits ambassador beyond Washington, D.C. Current exhibitions range from “Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission,” featuring the command module Columbia from the National Air and Space Museum, to “Water/Ways,” an exhibition from Museum on Main Street (MoMS). A collaboration with state humanities councils, MoMS brings cultural resources and develops capacity around small exhibitions in rural communities across the nation.

Prior to becoming director, Springuel served as interim director of Smithsonian Affiliations June 2017–June 2018. The Smithsonian Affiliate network maximizes the impact of Smithsonian collections, research, programs and exhibitions by connecting them with audiences that cannot be easily accessed without the benefit of these partnerships.

Springuel previously served as director of education and later associate director for programs at SITES from 1986 to 1994. Before SITES, she curated fine arts exhibitions and developed education programs at The Ringling in Sarasota, Florida. She also founded Springuel Consulting to help museums and cultural organizations respond to change and prepare for the future with clarity about their mission and priorities. Springuel developed strategic plans with large and small museums and provided board and leadership training.

Springuel received a master’s degree in art history from the University of Maryland and graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University.

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SI-18A-2018