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Mary Salvante

Mary Salvante brings over 30 years of experience as a curator and cultural producer to Rowan University. As Director and Chief Curator at Rowan University Museum of Contemporary Art, she curates innovative contemporary art exhibitions and public programs featuring artists from local and international communities. Her exhibitions have included internationally recognized artists such as Dread Scott, Mel Chin, Beverly Semmes, Joyce Kozloff, Julie Heffernan, Ebony Patterson, Federico Solmi, Jamea Richmond Edwards, Saya Woolfalk, Jeanne Silverthorne, Genevieve Gaignard, Ellen Harvey, vanessa german, and many others.

Prior to her work at Rowan, Mary developed community-based initiatives for non-profit organizations, including her NEA award-winning role as founding of the environmental art program at The Schuylkill Center—the first of its kind in Philadelphia that introduced ecological art installations and artist residency programs to the public, and co-founded Art in the Open Philadelphia, a biannual event that invites artists to create work along the banks of the Schuylkill River in Fairmount Park. She also played a key role in transforming Philadelphia Open Studio Tours from a volunteer-run initiative into a citywide event. For her public art production for The Main Line Art Center, she received the Arts Management Excellence Award from the Arts and Business Council of Philadelphia.

Her independent curatorial and art acquisition work included projects for the University of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, the Main Line Art Center, Art Ability at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, the Philadelphia Theatre Alliance, the Independence Seaport Museum, British Airways, and Stockton Real Estate Advisors.

She is co-founder of Creative Glassboro, an arts advisory committee serving the town of Glassboro, serves on the advisory committee for The Center for Emerging Visual Artists and sits on the board of Philadelphia Sculptors.  She has held advisory roles with Art in City Hall as committee chair, InLiquid, and The Main Line Art Center, Vice President of the Board of Trustees for Young Audiences of Eastern Pennsylvania and was on the Art Selection and Grant Committees for Venice Island Public Art Competition, Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, the State Council on the Arts of PA, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Gloucester County Heritage Commission, and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.

Originally from New York City, Mary was an associate at a public art advisory firm, where she provided curatorial, art acquisition, and public art site-specific commissions management services to corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Clients included the Metropolitan Transportation Authority; the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers; the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Hiro Real Estate; MetLife; Newscorp; and the National Urban League.

Mary holds a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City and a Master of Science in Arts Administration from Drexel University in Philadelphia. She also earned a certificate in Public Relations from New York University.