The Beat Podcast: Aaron Levi Garvey

In our latest episode we sit down with Aaron Levi Garvey, Director of the Art Museum of West Virginia University and a UK Arts Administration alumnus, to talk about what it takes to build a career at the intersection of curation, administration, and social impact.

Aaron brings a wealth of experience to the conversation — from serving as chief curator of the Andy Warhol Museum to founding the curatorial program at The Hudson Eye and Long Road Projects Foundation, to bringing his work to stages as prominent as the United Nations headquarters in New York City. Now leading the Art Museum of West Virginia University, Aaron has built a career defined by a commitment to contemporary issues and elevating diverse voices in the art world.

A proud graduate of UK's online MA program in Arts Administration, Aaron reflects on how his time at Kentucky laid the groundwork for a career that has taken him to some of the most respected institutions in the country — and what it means to come back to campus and pour into the next generation of arts professionals.

We explore professional mentorship in arts administration and curation, how to entice friends (and skeptics) into an art gallery, and what building a legacy means.