Bio

Kristan M. Hanson brings an interest in artistic engagements with the plant world, environmental justice, and planetary health to her work at the University of Vermont's Fleming Museum of Art. In her role as the Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, she conducts original research on art objects and researches, develops, and implements exhibitions. She particularly enjoys collaborating with faculty and students on projects that empower all to co-create exhibition content.

Prior to joining the Fleming, Hanson served as the Managing Digital Editor for the Plant Humanities Initiative at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection in Washington, DC. She also held an academic year fellowship at DO,  contributing content to the Plant Humanities Lab and the JSTOR Daily Plant of the Month series. In 2025, she became the Reviews Co-Editor for the new peer-reviewed journal Plant Perspectives.

Hanson’s professional experience in museums includes positions in academic programs and curatorial research at the University of Kansas’s Spencer Museum of Art. She also held positions in visual resources librarianship and museum education at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Most recently, Hanson wrote about women artists and gender inequities in the art world for a new book introducing the Christian Levett Collection at FAMM (Female Artists of the Mougins Museum) (June 2025). She also co-edited and contributed essays to the post-exhibition catalogue Perspectives on a Legacy Collection: Sallie Casey Thayer’s Gift to the University of Kansas (2020).