“I am thrilled to join the wonderful team at the Tweed,” Sunset said. “It's an exciting opportunity to contribute to the museum’s mission of serving the community through engaging exhibitions and increased access to original works of art. I look forward to dialogue and collaboration with the campus community and beyond!”
In her new role as Curator, Sunset will play a pivotal role in implementing Tweed’s mission by conceiving and organizing exhibitions and collection rotations that investigate a range of artistic practices and facilitate academic engagement with the collection.
Jennifer Brady, CAHSS Interim Dean, noted that Sunset’s strong background in academic museums make her the perfect fit for the role.
“Michelle's experience and vision are exactly what is needed to further advance the incredible work being done by Tweed director Julie Delliquanti and her team,” Brady said. “Michelle deeply understands how to bridge academic scholarship with public engagement, making art accessible, relevant, and transformative for diverse audiences.”
“Michelle’s appointment as curator marks an exciting new chapter for the Tweed,” Delliquanti said. “I look forward to the fresh perspectives she will bring to interpreting our collection, organizing exhibitions, interdisciplinary storytelling, object-based learning, and thinking about our role as an academic art museum in the 21st century.”
Sunset is an accomplished academic art museum curator with a strong background in interpretation and visitor-centered exhibitions. She comes most recently from the University of Wyoming Art Museum in Laramie, Wyoming, where she enjoyed a six-year tenure, first as Assistant Curator and finally as Director of Curatorial Affairs.
Her wide-ranging, highly collaborative exhibition projects have gained notable recognition. Key projects include the exhibitions Luke Gilford: Portraits of the Queer Frontier (2022), Jenene Nagy: while navigating the distance around the sun (2023) — which was reviewed in ArtForum — and Sympoiesis: Co-Creating Sense of Place (2025).
Prior to her time in Wyoming, Sunset served as the Exhibits Manager at the Florida Historic Capitol Museum in Tallahassee and as a Curatorial Assistant at the historic Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in Miami, Florida.
Sunset has a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of North Florida. She also holds two Masters of Arts from Florida State University: in the History and Criticism of Art with a focus in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies and in Art Education with a specialization in Visitor-Centered Curation.
Sunset has served on the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries (AAMG) Board of Directors as a Co-Representative for the Mountain-Plains Region since 2023. Recently, Sunset was honored with the “Champion of Creativity” award at the AAMG Annual Conference for her work on the innovative installation Where the Heck is Yucca Fountain? alongside artists Andrew Bablo and Helen Popinchalk.
She frequently presents at international conferences and is a published author, contributing to the edited volume Dimensions of Curation: Considering Competing Values for Intentional Exhibition Practices (2023).
Sunset’s hiring is the culmination of a comprehensive national search.