Albany Museum of Art's Annie Vanoteghem recognized by magazine

Jul. 12—ALBANY — Annie Vanoteghem, director of education and public programming at the Albany Museum of Art, has been named to Rural Leader Magazine's 2021 Forty Under 40 list.

The online magazine annually recognizes 40 exemplary individuals under the age of 40 who have made outstanding contributions to their respective communities. The magazine website notes the program is designed to honor leaders from small communities in Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Bios of the 40 recipients this year and the naming of the top four from the list are to appear in the online magazine's September edition.

"I am so incredibly honored by this recognition," Vanoteghem said. "I am lucky to be able to work in a place that recognizes need in the community and allows me to use creativity and art to reach out to so many people. The AMA has provided me with the ability to grow my passion while getting to know my amazing community. For that I am grateful."

"We at the AMA are thrilled for Annie Vanoteghem to receive this honor from Rural Leader Magazine," AMA Executive Director Andrew J. Wulf said. "Her passion for education and building dynamic museum programs for all people has pushed the AMA to innovate again and again, with marvelous results. Annie is a significant asset to our team, and her professionalism is second to none."

Vanoteghem, a Westover High School graduate who earned a BA in Art History from Georgia State College & University, joined the AMA as an education intern in 2018. In 2019, she was named director of education and public programming.

As director, Vanoteghem designs and implements programming for all ages, from infants to senior adults. Programs she is responsible for include the AMA summer and holiday art camps, monthly educational arts programs for toddlers and homeschoolers, guided tours with art activities for student field trips at the museum, artist talks and educator lectures, the annual Courageous Conversations About Race community discussion and A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words high school and college essay contest, and other programming.

Educational programming is STEAM- (science, technology, engineering, art, math) related. Vanoteghem also serves as adviser to the AMA Teen Art Board, a leadership program she started in 2019 that consists of creative teenagers who want to engage with art in their community. During the COVID shutdown, she successfully re-created many of the in-person programs as online experiences, such as the innovative Camp-in-a-Box in which art campers could pick up a box of the needed supplies and experience art camp at home with online instruction.

In the past year, she and the executive director created Awaken at the AMA, a program tailored for individuals coping with Alzheimer's, and they are currently developing a program aimed at helping members of the medical community. She and her husband, Daniel, have two daughters.