UF’s Mazza Museum Announces New Curator and Deputy Director

The Mazza Museum in the Virginia B. Gardner Fine Arts Pavilion at The University of Findlay is pleased to welcome professional artist Dan Chudzinski as curator and announce the promotion of Kerry Teeple to deputy director. Both professionals bring outstanding experience and achievement to their new roles.

Dan Chudzinski is a highly talented sculptor and illustrator who holds a Master of Fine Arts in Three Dimensional Studies from Bowling Green State University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Miami University. He has taught art at BGSU and Terra State Community College.

“We are excited to have an artist of Dan’s caliber as curator for the museum,” said Benjamin Sapp, museum director. “He brings to our team his exceptional talent and creativity and connections to the artistic community.”

This fall Chudzinski received the Chelsey Award in Best Three-Dimensional Art for “The Mudpuppy.” He has also received awards from Creative Quarterly, a journal of art and design; the Palmer Scholarship from the Toledo Museum of Art; the Gold Award from Infected by Art; and was featured in in the top 25 3-D category at Art Prize in Grand Rapids in 2014. Also, in 2014, he was featured at Mazza’s Summer Conference in “A Storyteller’s Art: The Narrative Sculptures and Curious Creations of Dan Chudzinski.”

The museum is also pleased to announce the promotion of Kerry Teeple to the position of deputy director. She brings to the position more than four years of experience as Mazza’s administrative assistant. She has also taught Topics in Children’s Literature for the College of Education at The University of Findlay and previously worked with elementary school students to improve their literacy and reading comprehension.

“Kerry’s dedication and her passion for children’s literacy and artwork from children’s picture books are an asset to the Mazza Museum. Her energy and experience make her a great fit for her new role,” said Sapp. Teeple holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Miami University and a Master of Arts in Education from The University of Findlay. This spring, she implemented the first Children’s Book Week celebration at the museum.

Chudzinski and Teeple start their new roles this month and the museum is accepting applications for a new administrative assistant.