Maya Brooks

Curator Maya Brooks first discovered her passion for the humanities by designing Barbie Dreamhouses. She would set up the houses for hours, making sure to glue each piece in its proper place, then host "showings" and provide commentary on why she chose to put each item in its specific location. The creative freedom of constructing spaces and narratives for her dolls enamored her, influencing her to pursue a career in museums and historic sites.

​Brooks received her B.A. in Anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2018. She graduated with her M.A. in History from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2020. She is currently the Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the North Carolina Museum of Art (Raleigh and Winston-Salem), a position that encourages her passion for examining culture through an artistic lens. Brooks's professional mission is to provide engaging museum experiences for the public through exhibition curation, interpretation, and design. Overall, she strives to restore access, inclusion, and agency in the museum field for all communities, especially those that have been historically marginalized by cultural institutions.