Andréa Purnell, community collaborations manager, joined the Saint Louis Art Museum in 2017. As the audience development manager, Purnell works to spearhead cross-departmental initiatives and engagement strategies designed to increase and expand the museum’s audience profile. Her major contributions at SLAM include the development of the award-winning Staff Programming Opportunity Team, a program that encourages staff input and promotes diverse thinking using institutional collaboration with fresh perspectives.
Purnell was co-curator of “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century,” a 2023 exhibition presented a sweeping art history of hip hop culture and its myriad expressions across the globe.
In addition to her public relations duties, Purnell has maintained a successful artistic career as an actor, writer, director, and stage manager. Her acting credits include theater, commercials, industrial films, and movies. She has appeared in numerous local broadcasts and continues to be actively involved in media relations. For these accomplishments, she has received the DELUX Magazine Power 100 Award, Grand Center Visionary Award, North County Incorporated 30 Leaders Award, Ferguson-Florissant School District Outstanding Alumni Award, and ALIVE Magazine Buzz Listing.
Purnell holds a bachelor of arts degree in communication studies from Fontbonne University, a master of fine arts in arts management and leadership from Webster University, and a diversity, equity, and inclusion certificate from Cornell University. Purnell serves as the appointed 2023 board chair for the Regional Arts Commission of Saint Louis and on the Florissant Disability Awareness Commission.
Andréa Purnell, Audience Development Manager
Notable media appearances and mentions
- SLAM exhibition featuring St. Louis hip hop and visual artists heads to Germany (St. Louis American, Jan. 8, 2024)
- The New Season: Art from hip hop to Picasso (CBS Sunday Morning, Sept. 24, 2023)
- How St. Louis Art Museum went beyond the beats to map the expanse of hip-hop culture (St. Louis Public Radio, Sept. 14, 2023)
- New St. Louis Art Museum exhibition shows ‘hip-hop culture is more than music’ (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Aug. 17, 2023)
- Five Decades of Hip-Hop Converge in Saint Louis Art Museum’s ‘The Culture’ (Gazelle Magazine, Aug. 17, 2023)
Television and video
- The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century at the Saint Louis Art Museum (Higher Education Channel, Aug. 22, 2023)
- Hip Hop Exhibit at the St. Louis Art Museum (Nine PBS, Sept. 11, 2023)
- Art Speaks: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Making of The Culture (SLAM, Nov. 20, 2023)