Photo of Susan Barnett, the juror of the 2025 juried student exhibition

Susan Barnett has been the Maggie and Dick Scarlett Curator of Western American Art for the Whitney Western Art Museum of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West since August, 2022. Previously the curator for the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings and the Erie Art Museum, she has also worked as executive director, collections manager, nonprofit board consultant, and gallery owner. 

She earned her Master of Arts in Art History from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and a Bachelor of Arts in Printmaking from Montana State University, Bozeman. She knows and loves the American West and the art the region inspires, a connection forged over three decades living in Montana and Wyoming. 

In addition to the art of the West, Barnett鈥檚 curatorial focus has been American art and studio craft. Recent exhibitions include regional artists such as James Bama, Will James, Tracy Linder, and Bill Stockton. She is currently researching the intersection of western and Pop art for an exhibition that will open at the Center of the West in May, 2024.