BONNIE CLEARWATER

DIRECTOR AND CHIEF CURATOR, NSU ART MUSEUM, FORT LAUDERDALE

Founded in 1958, NSU Art Museum is part of Nova Southeastern University and is supported by the city of Fort Lauderdale, where it’s located in the heart of downtown. Clearwater joined it as director and chief curator in 2013, bringing with her a reputation as an influential leader who has played a role in Miami’s emergence as an international arts center. She spearheaded a rebranding and expansion of the art museum’s reach locally, nationally and internationally. “In most cases, I don’t know the artist when I’ve become interested in their work,” she told Florida Trend earlier this year. “I look at the work, and I let the work tell me.”

EDUCATION: New York University (BA), Columbia University (MA)