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CINCINNATI — May 28, 2025 — The Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM) has named Julie Ribits as its new Head Conservator. Ribits will oversee the conservation of CAM’s collections, department operations and the ongoing collaborative cross-disciplinary development of policies to ensure the preservation of works in the museum’s care.

“We look forward to welcoming Julie to the Cincinnati Art Museum team,” shared Cameron Kitchin, Louis and Louise Dieterle Nippert Director of the Cincinnati Art Museum. “Her technical skills and approach to the public dimension of conservation work are known throughout the field. Her leadership will continue to place CAM at the top rank of art museum conservation departments worldwide.”

Ribits joins CAM from the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University, where she was the Beverly and Gayl W. Doster Paintings Conservator. There, she oversaw the final renovation of its new Center for Conservation and developed strategies to integrate conservation throughout the university. Prior to joining the Eskenazi Museum of Art, Ribits worked at the Saint Louis Art Museum and The Chrysler Museum of Art.

Among several institutions and programs where Ribits has lent expertise through residencies and special projects is the Getty Conserving Canvas Initiative. Her research into histories of conservation in the United States–most notably through the work of Morton C. Bradley, Jr., and the impact of his experimental conservation techniques on collections along the East Coast–has met industry acclaim. Ribits is a co-founder and editorial board member of Materia: Journal of Technical Art History, an open-access peer reviewed digital publication dedicated to the technical study of art objects. She has written and contributed to several publications about conservation issues and has presented extensively at national and international conferences.

Ribits received her Master’s degree and Certificate of Advanced Study in conservation science with a concentration in paintings from SUNY Buffalo State College in 2016, where she was the class president and an Andrew W. Mellon research fellow. She graduated with high distinction from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor’s degree in art: printmaking and art history: early Netherlandish painting.

About the Cincinnati Art Museum

The Cincinnati Art Museum features a diverse, encyclopedic art collection of more than 73,000 works spanning 6,000 years. In addition to displaying its own broad collection, the museum conducts extensive research and creates and organizes several exhibitions each year. It also hosts national and international traveling exhibitions. Through these critical projects and art-related programs, activities, and special events, the museum contributes to a more vibrant Cincinnati by inspiring its people and connecting its communities.

The Cincinnati Art Museum is supported by the generosity of individuals and businesses that give annually to ArtsWave. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Cincinnati Art Museum with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Cincinnati Art Museum gratefully acknowledges operating support from the City of Cincinnati, as well as its members. Free general admission to the Cincinnati Art Museum is made possible by a gift from the Rosenthal Family Foundation. Generous support for the museum’s extended Thursday hours is provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program. Exhibition pricing may vary. Parking at the Cincinnati Art Museum is free. Accessibility accommodations are available. More information is available at cincinnatiartmuseum.org.

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