The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has announced the appointment of Franklin Sirmans, as board chair and the election of three new board members, Cheryl Finley, Candice Hopkins, and Suzi Kwon Cohen.
The Foundation’s board consists of a diverse group of 18 dedicated leaders that include artists, curators, scholars, and visual arts professionals from across the country who help the Foundation fulfill its mission to bolster artists and support their communities. Sirmans succeeds Deborah Willis, whose tenure as chair and board member comes to an end, while two other board members Naomi Beckwith and Cary Davis have also completed their terms.
“Our new board members bring valuable expertise and fresh perspectives that will deepen the Foundation’s commitment to artists and the visual arts field,” says Joel Wachs, President of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. “Together with Franklin Sirmans’ leadership, their knowledge, insight, and experience will help us advance our mission and meet the evolving needs of artists and the organizations that support them.”
Franklin Sirmans has been the Sandra and Tony Tamer Director of the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) since 2015 and has overseen the acquisition of more than a thousand works of art by donation or purchase. Prior to joining PAMM, he served as the department head and curator of contemporary art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and as the Artistic Director of the 2014 Prospect New Orleans biennial. At LACMA, he curated Noah Purifoy: Junk Dada, as well as Fútbol: The Beautiful Game and oversaw major retrospectives by Glenn Ligon and Blinky Palermo. Previously, he organized exhibitions that originated at the Menil Collection such as Vija Celmins: Television and Disaster, 1964-1966 and Maurizio Cattelan: Is There Life Before Death? and NeoHooDoo: Art for a Forgotten Faith. He is the former U.S. Editor of Flash Art and Editor-in-Chief of ArtAsiaPacific, and he has written and edited numerous artist and exhibition catalogues.
Cheryl Finley is a distinguished art historian, curator, and author. As a seasoned educator, she is the Walton Endowed Professor and Director of the Atlanta University Center Art History + Curatorial Studies Collective at Spelman College, where she leads an innovative program preparing the next generation of museum and visual arts leaders. She holds a Ph.D. in African American Studies and History of Art from Yale University and has held academic and curatorial positions at institutions including Wellesley College and Cornell University and is the recipient of the 2026 David C. Driskell Prize. Her research focuses on contemporary African diaspora art, art markets, photography, museums and visual culture.
Candice Hopkins is a citizen of Carcross/Tagish First Nation and lives in the Mahicannituck Valley, New York. She is Executive Director & Chief Curator of Forge Project, Taghkanic, NY, and Fellow in Indigenous Art History and Curatorial Studies, Bard College. Her writing and curatorial practice explore the intersections of history, contemporary visual art, and indigeneity. She is curator of the recent exhibitions Replica of a Chip: The Weaving Technology of Marilou Schultz, Indian Theater: Native Performance, Art, and Self-Determination Since 1969, (both originating at the Hessel Museum of Art), Soundings: An Exhibition in Five Parts, co-curated with Dylan Robinson, and ᑕᑯᒃᓴᐅᔪᒻᒪᕆᒃ Double Vision, featuring textiles, prints and drawings by Jessie Oonark, Janet Kigusiuq, and Victoria Mamnguqsualuk. She was the Senior Curator for the 2019 and 2022 editions of the Toronto Biennial of Art, and part of the curatorial team for the Canadian Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale and documenta 14.
Suzi Kwon Cohen is an investor and capital allocator with three decades of experience managing portfolios across both traditional and alternative asset classes. Her experience includes serving as the Chief Investment Officer of Mousse Partners, the investment division of Chanel Limited, the parent company of Chanel. Prior to Mousse, she was Managing Director and Head of Private Equity for the Americas at the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), and a private equity investor at Quadrangle Group and Credit Suisse Private Equity. She is a trustee of Brown University and serves as vice president of the Board of Trustees for Phillips Exeter Academy.
The Foundation is honored to welcome these exceptional new board members and Franklin Sirmans as board chair. They join an accomplished board whose contributions assist the Foundation in remaining a leading supporter of visual artists and artist-centered organizations.