Since May, 2015, Jenine Culligan has been director and curator at the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins. Culligan earned her M.A. in art history and museum studies from Case Western Reserve University, a joint program with the Cleveland Museum of Art, and her B.A. in art history with a minor in studio art from the University of Kentucky. As a generalist, she has more than 30 years of experience working in art museums, overseeing, and acquiring artwork for collections, and organizing over 250 exhibitions—from ancient to contemporary. Prior to joining the faculty/staff at Hollins, Jenine’s career included being chief curator at the Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV; associate curator and program director at the Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE; and education assistant and researcher at the University of Kentucky Art Museum. Internships at the National Gallery of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, and the University of Kentucky Art Museum gave her a good grounding before joining the museum field. One of her main emphases throughout her career has been to promote, exhibit, and acquire art by women artists and artists of color. She has extensive experience organizing exhibitions of contemporary artists (including juried exhibitions) and has been asked to jury exhibits for art institutions in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and Virginia.
Each spring she works with the Frances Niederer Artist-in-Residence, and organizes an exhibition of their work. At Hollins, Jenine presents weekly museum sessions with classes from across disciplines, co-teaches a museum studies class every other year, and works with interns throughout the year, including a first-year J-Term internship.
She lives in Roanoke with her antiques dealer husband, Phil Adkins, and their cat Daisy. She enjoys volunteering/working with animals, gardening, hiking, baking, and visiting museums.