Smithsonian American Art Museum Names Mary Savig Curator-in-Charge for Its Renwick Gallery

The Smithsonian American Art Museum has appointed Mary Savig the Fleur and Charles Bresler Curator-in-Charge for the Renwick Gallery, home to the museum’s craft and decorative art program since 1972. Savig, who has served as acting curator-in-charge since January 2024, joined the museum staff in 2020 as the Lloyd Herman Curator of Craft. During her tenure, Savig has continued to guide the direction of the Renwick Gallery’s curatorial program with a roster of acclaimed exhibitions that have contributed new scholarship to the field. As curator-in-charge, Savig will oversee staff, acquire artworks for the museum’s permanent collection and present exhibitions and collection displays that advance appreciation for craft and maker culture at the Renwick Gallery. Savig’s appointment is effective immediately. 

“After a national search, I am delighted to welcome Mary Savig to this role,” said Jane Carpenter-Rock, acting Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “Her distinctive vision for the state of craft in the United States and dedication to championing its importance within American culture opens up new possibilities for SAAM’s contemporary craft program.” 

Savig is the lead curator for “State Fairs: Growing American Craft,” opening Aug. 22, the first exhibition dedicated to artists’ contributions to the great U.S. tradition of state fairs. Other recent exhibitions that reassess and uplift craft’s relevance to American culture include “We Gather at the Edge: Contemporary Quilts by Black Women Artists” (2025), “Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women” (2024) and “This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World” (2022). 

Previously, Savig was curator of manuscripts from 2013 to 2020 at the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art, where she pursued collections documenting the history of American studio craft and conducted oral-history interviews with Beth Lipman, Preston Singletary and James Tanner. 

She earned a master’s degree from The George Washington University and a doctorate in American studies from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her dissertation was titled “Stitches as Seeds: Crafting New Natures.” Savig’s research interests include American studio craft, contemporary craft, American art and material culture.