Anne Kraybill has been named CEO of Art Bridges Foundation of Bentonville, a national arts nonprofit founded by Alice Walton.
Kraybill joins the organization from the Wichita Art Museum, where she had been director and CEO since August 2022. She previously led The Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. At both museums, Kraybill partnered with Art Bridges to expand community access to a diverse range of artworks and public programs.
Her new role with Art Bridges is her second with a Walton-founded arts organization. Kraybill spent seven years at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, with roles as director of education and research in learning, and as school programs and distance learning manager.
In a news release, Art Bridges said Kraybill brings expertise in program development, fundraising, strategic planning and research.
“We’re excited to welcome an entrepreneurial leader like Anne whose experience partnering with museums and the foundation will drive Art Bridges’ impact in the arts and culture sector,” Walton said.
Kraybill holds a bachelor’s in photography from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, a master’s in museum education from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, a master’s in instructional technology from East Carolina University in Greenville, and has taken doctoral-level coursework in public policy at the University of Arkansas.
She joins Art Bridges shortly after it announced a $40 million initiative to increase access to 64 museums across the nation.
“I am honored to have been selected as the next CEO of Art Bridges,” Kraybill said in the release. “As a director of two regional museums that have partnered with the foundation, I know first-hand how transformative Art Bridges is by creating and supporting programs that bring diverse artworks and exhibitions to communities across the country.
“Art Bridges is a true catalyst of change for the museum field and I’m excited to return to Bentonville to work with such a talented team and lead the foundation into its next chapter.”
