Maya Allison is the founding Executive Director of The NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery and Chief Curator at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), a degree-granting research university in the liberal arts tradition. She comes from a curatorial background in academic museums, including at the RISD Museum (Rhode Island School of Design) and Curator at the Bell Gallery (Brown University). She holds an MFA from Columbia University, a BA in art history from Reed College, and was awarded a research fellowship on curatorial practices at Brown University’s Center for Public Humanities. Some of her exhibitions in the past include Diana Al-Hadid: Phantom Limb (NYUAD, 2016), Nostalgia Machines (Brown University, 2011), and Music Video/Silent Film: Innovations in the Moving Image (RISD Museum, 2007). She is a leading scholar in the region with a focus on the UAE art scene, past and present. This is exemplified by her exhibition, But We Cannot See Them: Tracing a UAE Art Community, 1988-2008 (NYUAD, 2017), a comprehensive survey of a UAE-based avant-garde community over the two decades. Currently, she is curating UAE’s pavilion for the 2022 Venice Biennale, which will feature the art of Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim.