More than 30 years of professional experience in research with projects ranging from business and product development to cultural history, social justice, and visual anthropology. With 13 years as an analyst in strategic planning and business development, and 18 years as a curator and material culturalist, I am currently Curator of Photography at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Prior to the Smithsonian, I curated the art collection at Morgan State University’s James E. Lewis Museum of Art, which houses more than 5,000 works of art from the 17^th century to present. At Morgan, I produced more than 25 exhibitions and public programs.

My research and curatorial work has received nearly 25 honors from such institutions as the Library of Congress, the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the United States Congress, the Justice Department, the State Department, and the Royal Anthropological Institute, UK. I have lectured at institutions such as Duke, Johns Hopkins, Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, the British Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I also traveled with the U.S. State Department to lecture at universities and cultural institutions throughout Madrid, Seville, and Barcelona, Spain.

A native Baltimorean, I am Chair of city’s Public Arts Commission, a former commissioner with the city’s Commission on Historical and Architectural Preservation, and served as Chair of Baltimore's Special Commission to Review Confederate Monuments.

Aaron Bryant is a Museum Curator at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Co-Curator for the Johnson Publishing Company Archives, and a Fellow with the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. Prior to the Smithsonian, Bryant was curator for the art collection at Morgan State University’s James E. Lewis Museum of Art, which houses more than 5,000 works of art from the 17th century to present.

Bryant’s research has received honors from such institutions as the Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library, the Schomburg and New York Public Library, the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Justice Department, the Smithsonian, and the Royal Anthropological Institute, UK. Additionally, Bryant has lectured for the U.S. State Department at universities and cultural institutions throughout Barcelona, Seville, and Madrid, Spain.

He is Chair of Baltimore City’s Public Arts Commission and a commissioner with the city’s Commission on Historical and Architectural Preservation. He also served as Chair for the city’s Special Commission to Review Confederate Monuments.

Bryant earned his Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Maryland, where he was awarded the Bode-Wise Award for his research on visual culture, community mobilization, and social movement analyses. He also holds an MFA in Management from the Yale School of Drama, and an AB in History from Duke.

Chapter

• Bryant, Aaron E. 2019. "A Mother's Grief Mobilizes the Nation." In Smithsonian American Women: Remarkable Objects and Stories of Strength, Ingenuity, and Vision from the National Collection. Pope, Victoria and Schrum, Christine, editors. 150. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books. 2019
• Bryant, Aaron E. 2019. "Antiracist Activism." In Smithsonian American Women: Remarkable Objects and Stories of Strength, Ingenuity, and Vision from the National Collection. Pope, Victoria and Schrum, Christine, editors. 236. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books. 2019
• Bryant, Aaron. 2018. "Democracy Beyond the Borders: Martin Luther King and His Tour of India." In Visual Histories of South Asia. Motrescu-Mayes, Annamaria and Banks, Marcus, editors. Delhi: Primus Ratna Sagar. 2018
• Bryant, Aaron. 2017. "Critique, Pictures and Progress: Devin Allen as Social Critic." In A Beautiful Ghetto. Allen, Devin, editor. xiii–xvi. Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books. 2017
• Bryant, Aaron. 2017. "Jill Freedman: Visual Discourse on Gender and Civil Rights Leadership." In Resurrection City, 1968. Freedman, Jill, editor. 11–14. Bologna, Italy: Daniani. 2017
• Bryant, Aaron. 2016. "Introduction: Devin Allen." In Aperture: Vision & Justice, 223. 106–109. New York: Aperture Foundation. 2016
• Bryant, Aaron. 2013. "Sight Syncs Sound: Civil Rights Music, Robert Houston's Photography, and the 1968 Poor People's Campaign." In Sounds of Resistance: The Role of Music in Multicultural Activism. Rojas, Eunice and Michie, Lindsay, editors. 113–144. Santa Barbara: Praeger. 2013
• Bryant, Aaron. 2011. "Black thou Art, Black thou Ain't: Johnson, Identity, and the Linguistic Turn." In William H. Johnson: An American Modern. Gionis, Teresa G., editor. 102–113. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 2011