New York, NY (April 7, 2025)—The Guggenheim New York, in collaboration with the Academy of American Poets, welcomes Traci Brimhall as the Poet-in-Residence for 2025. The residency, now in its fourth year, builds upon the institution’s legacy of engaging forms of abstraction in the visual arts and beyond, as well as its history with poetry events, and continues the Guggenheim’s commitment to amplifying a multitude of voices and perspectives within its programming.
Poetry has long been celebrated at the Guggenheim, beginning in 1963 with the Academy of American Poets’ presentation of poetry readings in the Peter B. Lewis Theater. The Guggenheim established the Poet-in-Residence program in collaboration with the Academy of American Poets in 2021, with support from Van Cleef & Arpels, to specifically explore the possibilities of poetry in the context of the museum space. The initiative strives to create poetic experiences that enhance the public’s engagement with the museum and its architecture while establishing a sense of community and togetherness. Taylor Johnson was the inaugural Poet-in-Residence in 2022, followed by Ama Codjoe in 2023 and Meg Day in 2024.
Brimhall is the author of five collections of poetry and a professor of creative writing and narrative medicine at Kansas State University. She is the current poet laureate of Kansas, where her initiatives have centered on uniting the state’s agricultural roots with the literary arts. In 2024, Brimhall received the Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship, an award that supports poets in civic positions by enabling them to undertake “meaningful, impactful, and innovative projects that enrich the lives of their neighbors, including youth, through responsive and interactive poetry activities.“ Brimhall’s Guggenheim Poet-in-Residence application posed the provocation of museums as spaces of dreaming, making, and being.
“Museums are one of the places I love to visit to activate my sense of wonder,” says Brimhall. “To-do lists and packed calendars can overtake my life, but museums are always an invitation to awe and curiosity. I think mystery and bewilderment are peaceful feelings—though I also understand how frustrating it can be to not know. But walking a museum is a meditation in motion for me, relaxing into my own wonder and spending some time thinking and feeling alongside art.”
“We are thrilled to be working with Traci Brimhall as our next Poet-in-Residence. Finding space to dream together and explore what we cannot yet see through art and poetry are critical public projects. We are so grateful for the partnership in ensuring that a visit to the Guggenheim remains a creative invitation for everyone,” said Cyra Levenson, Deputy Director and Gail Engelberg Director of Education and Public Engagement.
In addition to facilitated programming cocreated by Brimhall and the Guggenheim New York’s Department of Education and Public Engagement, Brimhall will participate in readings and discursive programs at the Guggenheim in collaboration with the museum and the Academy of American Poets, and partner on poetry activations as part of the exhibition Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers.
“The Academy of American Poets champions the ways poetry invites us to live in the limitless arch of the imagination,” said Ricardo Maldonado, Academy President and Executive Director. “We are thrilled to collaborate once again with the Guggenheim New York on its groundbreaking Poet-in-Residence program and Traci Brimhall’s project, which reminds us that the reach of art is vast, awakening in us deeper knowledge and wonder.”
Guggenheim New York visitors will first have a chance to engage with Brimhall’s work on April 10, when the museum will be handing out one of her poems in celebration of Poem in Your Pocket Day. The public can also hear Brimhall during the first weekend in May as part of the poetry lineup for Spring is Blooming at Rockefeller Center, Van Cleef & Arpels’ spring celebration.
Brimhall was selected as Poet-in-Residence by a panel that comprised Henri Cole, Pulitzer Prize finalist and award-winning poet; Elisa Gonzalez, Whiting Award–winning poet, essayist, and fiction writer; and David Velasco, editor and former editor-in-chief of Artforum; alongside representatives from the Academy of American Poets and the Guggenheim New York.
The Guggenheim Poet-in-Residence is made possible by Van Cleef & Arpels.
About the Academy of American Poets
The Academy of American Poets is a leading champion of poets and poetry in the United States. Through its robust prize program, the organization awards over $1.3 million annually to poets across the country. The Academy also operates Poets.org, the world’s most popular publicly funded poetry website; organizes National Poetry Month, the largest literary celebration in the world; publishes Poem-a-Day and American Poets magazine; provides educational resources for K–12 teachers and adult learners; and leads the Poetry Coalition, a network of organizations dedicated to promoting the vital role of poetry in our culture.
About the Guggenheim New York
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation was established in 1937 and is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of modern and contemporary art through exhibitions, education programs, research initiatives, and publications. The international constellation of museums includes the Guggenheim New York; the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice; Guggenheim Bilbao; and the future Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. An architectural icon and “temple of spirit” where radical art and architecture meet, the Guggenheim New York is now among a group of eight Frank Lloyd Wright structures in the United States recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. To learn more about the museum and the Guggenheim’s activities around the world, visit guggenheim.org.
About Van Cleef & Arpels
Founded at Paris’ 22 Place Vendôme in 1906, Van Cleef & Arpels came into being following Esther (known as Estelle) Arpels’ marriage to Alfred Van Cleef in 1895. Over the decades, the excellence and creativity of the High Jewelry and Watchmaking Maison established its reputation across the world. With a blend of inventiveness and poetry, Van Cleef & Arpels perpetuates a highly distinctive style that has produced numerous signatures: the Mystery Set technique, the Minaudière precious case, the transformable Zip necklace and the Alhambra motif. Its selection of gems that instill an emotion and the savoir-faire of its craftsmen have given birth to enchanting jewelry and watchmaking collections. Whether inspired by nature, couture, dance or imaginary worlds, the Maison opens the gate to a timeless universe of beauty and harmony. Throughout its history, Van Cleef & Arpels has showed a strong affinity to the values of creativity, transmission and exchange. This constant commitment finds expression in various educational partnerships, cultural programs and initiatives protecting the natural world.