Marian Taylor Brown

Education

Biography

Marian Taylor Brown (she/they) is an Assistant Professor of Arts Administration in the School of Art at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG).  

Taylor Brown is a transdisciplinary artist, educator, researcher, social entrepreneur, and arts administrator with fifteen years of experience in arts and culture leadership. As an artist committed to social justice—turned arts administrator and social entrepreneur, Taylor Brown has collaborated with more than two hundred arts and culture organizations, and alongside innumerable creatives.  

Taylor Brown founded Arts Connect International and co-founded the Cultural Equity Incubator in Boston, both of which focus on collective action as a pathway to creative justice. Prior to that, Taylor Brown held leadership positions at Open Door Arts in Boston; the Art & Global Health Center Africa in Zomba, Malawi; and ARTZ: Artists for Alzheimer’s in Woburn, Massachusetts. As a consultant, Taylor Brown continues to support organizations and institutions as they move towards aligned, equity-centered leadership and action.   

A lifelong learner committed to inquiry and equity, Taylor Brown has taught for the Harvard Graduate School of Education; the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Boston’s School for Global Inclusion & Social Development, and Honors College; and Heilbronn University’s College of International Business & Intercultural Management and held research positions within UMass Boston’s Institute for Community Inclusion and Harvard’s Project Zero. Taylor Brown has published community engaged scholarship in the Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, and the American Journal of Arts Management, with forthcoming publications with Palgrave Macmillan and Routledge.  

Within their studio art praxis, Taylor Brown investigates creation for community building, healing, regeneration, and joy. Trained in color theory, photography, paper making, and drawing, Taylor Brown’s work is multi-disciplinary. Taylor Brown honors process over product, and healing over economy. Taylor Brown is currently working on an artistic meditation series, forthcoming. Their most recent show, CHRONIC (2023), at the Cultural Equity Incubator in Boston, Massachusetts, included large scale handmade paper pieces traversing life across dimensions of disability and queerness.  

Taylor Brown equally cherishes her roles in life as an auntie, “goddy,” daughter, sibling, friend, neighbor, life partner, and fur parent. Taylor Brown is often found in nature, at arts events, in the studio, and with beloved community.  

Subjects Taught

• 202 Arts Admin & Entrepreneurship  
• 376 Micro-Enterprise for Creatives 
• 498 Internship in Arts Administration and Entrepreneurship  

Scholarly Creaetive/Research Activity

2026 | In process, chapter: Doulas of Creative Justice, in Global Perspectives on Creative Justice, Palgrave Macmillan, London, UK, edited by Antonio C. Cuyler and Mark Banks 

2026 | In process, short-form book: Creative Justice & Collective Action. Global Creative Economy, Routledge, UK., co-authors Andrea Gordillo, mica rose 

2022 | From Grassroots to Systems Change: Art for Social Justice published in the Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, co-authors Hyppolite Ntigurirwa, Andrea Gordillo, mica rose 

2021 | Embodied, Intergenerational Knowledge: Reconceptualizing Leadership Nurturing in Arts and Culture Management Education published in the American Journal of Arts Management, co-authors mica rose and Mel Taing 

2020 | Examining Cultural Equity: Boston’s Arts & Culture Sector published on ProQuest, dissertation, School for Global Inclusion & Social Development, University of Massachusetts Boston 

2019 | Moves Toward Equity: Perspectives from Arts Leaders of Color published by Arts Connect International, community findings report, co-authors Hanako Brais, Allegra Fletcher 

2018 | Examining Cultural Equity in the Arts published by Arts Connect International, community findings report, co-author Hanako Brais 

Personal Website

https://www.mariantaylorbrown.com 

Photo Credit: Mel Taing Photography