ABOUT
Polly McKenna-Cress
Exhibition Planner + Designer + Museum Leader + Faculty + Consultant
Polly has been dedicated to furthering the museum field in many different capacities through her 30+ years of leadership in the design and interpretation fields and through formal and informal education. Polly is deeply practiced in and dedicated to civic and socially responsible creative processes and community engagements that have been applied locally and throughout the world.
Polly has managed and collaborated on more than 60 exhibitions, taught as an Associate Professor at the University level, provided leadership in different departmental capacities, and is an author, lecturer and workshop facilitator.
In 2019, she was awarded a 3-year Fulbright Specialist Appointment by the Fulbright Commission of the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairst to work with Maloka Interactive Center in Bogota, Colombia. She began this work in March ‘19 and returned in Oct ‘19.
She has held and holds multiple board seats and is recognized locally, nationally and internationally for her work. She has given papers and conducted workshops in the UK, Colombia, Poland, China, and Argentina and presents at national museum conferences several times a year. In 2019, she was also appointed to the Senior Fellowship team for Drexel University’s Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships.
Polly was a Noyce Leadership Fellow in 2014-15, and co-authored a widely influential book, Creating Exhibitions: Collaboration in Planning, Development, and Design of Interpretive Experiences (Wiley, 2013 and Fudan University, Mandarin translation, 2019).
Polly holds a BFA in Industrial Design from the Rhode Island School of Design and a MFA in Museum Exhibition Planning + Design from the University of the Arts.
CONTACT ME
If you would like to connect, please send me an email, Fill out the form on this page to inquire about my services or if you have any questions.
I look forward to speaking with you.
Email: pmckennacress@gmail.com
“Museums are not only
about something, they are
for someone.”
– STEVEN WEIL
Museum Theorist
