Niagara University Educators Present at MANY Conference

Evan Wright, community and academic engagement manager at the Castellani Art Museum, and Edward Millar, curator of folk arts at the CAM, are representing Niagara University as part of a panel of university museum educators at the Museum Alliance of New York Conference, April 5-8, in Ithaca, N.Y.

Their panel, titled "Exploring Successes and Challenges in Community Engagement at University Art Museums," shares innovative approaches to community outreach and engagement-both on campus and in the general public.

This presentation highlights Niagara University's ongoing commitment to fostering meaningful connections between campus collections and the broader community, noted Wright.

In his role at the CAM, Wright uses art as a catalyst for learning to inspire dialogue, creativity, and education through programming and community engagement. He earned an M.A. in museum studies from Buffalo State College and a dual B.S. in anthropology and art history from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.

Millar brings a background in ethnographic fieldwork to his work at the CAM, where he develops exhibitions highlighting local cultural heritage and community-based artists in the Buffalo-Niagara region, with a focus on folk and traditional art, foodways, and occupational folklife. His work has been featured at the local, state, and national levels, including a 2020 fellowship from the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.