Chris Revelle

Chris Revelle joined the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts as the Director of Community Engagement in 2021. Revelle is focused on dynamic programming that connects all audiences to art and its educational potential. Along with the Department of Community Engagement, he develops programs that reimagine traditional approaches, activate the Museum in innovative ways, and provide multisensory experiences and teaching methods with the overarching goal of expanding partnerships within Arkansas and beyond while representing and welcoming the diverse community.

Revelle is also an interdisciplinary artist and educator. Within his studio practice, Revelle is focused on socially engaged work. Through the examination of history, language, and visual culture, Revelle’s work confronts the failures and abuses of social, political, and economic systems. The goal of his practice is to challenge public memory/engagement while inspiring discourse and empathy. His solo exhibition Swing Low was named Best Virtual Exhibit for 2020 by Phoenix New Times, selected for the Idea Capital Grant in 2018, and a finalist for the 2017 Hong Kong Human Rights Art Prize. Revelle has exhibited in the United States, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Europe, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and India, and has created artwork for United Nations organizations.

As a professor of contemporary art practices and theories, Revelle is passionate about his students’ success – emphasizing research, dialogue, and persistence – while balancing technical and conceptual development. He formerly served as the Chair of Fine Arts at Savannah College of Art and Design Hong Kong and was a Faculty Lecturer of Painting and Drawing at Arizona State University. Revelle earned his MFA from the School of Art at CalArts (California Institute of the Arts) in Valencia, CA.