Directory

Emily Bibb came to UA in 2012 as collections manager for the Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art at The University of Alabama, one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of 20th-century African American art in the world. She now serves as curator of the collection.

Among the numerous exhibitions Bibb has curated for the Paul R. Jones Museum and for traveling exhibitions, most recently are Selected Works from the Paul R. Jones Collection at the Houston Museum of African American Culture; at the Jones Museum: It Don’t Come Easy: The Blues in Art from the Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art, in conjunction with the UA School of Music; My Spot in the Sunlight – A For Freedoms Exhibition; and BAM! Black Panther and the Black Arts Movement in the Paul R. Jones Collection.

Bibb has collaborated with faculty and guest curators on Jones Museum exhibitions. With guest curator Paul Barrett: Charlie Lucas: Talking to the Ancestors; IT’S LIKE THAT- Selections from the Collection of Rebecca and Jack Drake; and Purvis Young: Born in Liberty City. Among the student-curated exhibitions she has supported are “Public Charge”: Diasporic Immigrant Artists, with Dr. Wendy Castenell’s art history class; and When They See Us, What do They See? Perspectives on Black Art with Ph.D. candidate Barbara-Shae Jackson. In addition, Bibb’s work has been integral in the collaborative art activities with area schools and produced exhibitions, including Celebrate! Investigate! Create! with Arcadia Elementary School; and Inspired, a collaboration with Woodland Forrest Elementary School.

Bibb was interviewed for WVUA 23’s Spirit of Alabama, featuring Paul R. Jones and his artistic legacy.

Bibb also serves as the digital archivist for the Birmingham Black Radio Museum in Birmingham, Alabama. Previously, she served as the collections manager of the Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., and as a collections department intern and volunteer at the New-York Historical Society. She holds an MLIS from The University of Alabama and a master’s degree in museum studies from New York University. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Rhode Island with a bachelor of arts in studio art.

Bibb introduces the 2021 exhibition Forward Movement at the Paul R. Jones Museum. Watch on Vimeo.