Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) in Hamilton has announced two new appointments to its leadership team, Grace Yasumura as curator at Grounds For Sculpture and Margaret Johnson as managing director at Johnson Atelier (JA).
Earlier this year, Johnson Atelier, a sculpture fabrication and conservation facility located on the GFS campus, became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the sculpture park, creating an epicenter of industry-leading contemporary sculpture production and making way for even greater relationship-building between the next generation of artists and a more diverse audience.
With the addition of Yasumura to GFS and Johnson to Johnson Atelier, both organizations will expand their support of artists’ ambitious next steps in their practice and connect artists and their practices with the public.
“We’re pleased to welcome Grace and Margaret and have their leadership as Grounds For Sculpture and Johnson Atelier move into a chapter of expanded artist impact,” said Gary Garrido Schneider, executive director at Grounds For Sculpture. “I look forward to seeing the projects they undertake, which will support experimentation, and artistic and intellectual exchange across both organizations, allowing us to deliver on our mission to make sculpture and public art widely accessible.”
As curator, Yasumura is responsible for elevating GFS’s profile through exhibitions that encourage new understandings of exemplary works of sculpture while supporting works produced by contemporary artists. Prior to joining GFS, Yasumura served as an assistant curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where she co-curated the exhibition “The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture.”
“I am honored to join the team at Grounds For Sculpture. I deeply admire the organization’s longstanding commitment to living artists and local communities, and I am thrilled to continue its commitment to being reflective and responsive to the world around us,” said Yasumura. “I am also excited to join GFS after its dynamic and transformational merger with Johnson Atelier, which promises to expand the reach, relevance and impact of Grounds For Sculpture’s artistic contributions for all audiences.”
As Johnson Atelier’s managing director, Johnson oversees all aspects of the organization’s operations, from strategic planning, marketing and client engagement strategies, capability expansion, and business development initiatives aimed at expanding the Atelier’s project pipeline and strengthening its position as a leader in art fabrication. She was most recently at Urban Art Projects (UAP), where she served as principal and senior curator, leading North American curatorial teams while driving business development across diverse international markets spanning the U.S., China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.
“This merger represents an extraordinary moment — the unification of Johnson Atelier and Grounds For Sculpture creates unprecedented synergy between production, exhibition, and public engagement,” said Johnson. “I’m particularly energized by the opportunity to expand our artist residency program, supporting artists as they explore new materials, scales, and contexts for their work. Together, we’ll build a model where fabrication and exhibition work in concert, allowing us to commission groundbreaking work while making contemporary sculpture more accessible to diverse audiences.”
For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.