Merijn van der Heijden has been named interim director of Ohio State’s Urban Arts Space, effective Sept. 1. Van der Heijden, who has an extensive background in the arts, joined Ohio State in 2004 and has worked as deputy director of exhibitions and curatorial practice at the Arts Initiative; she previously served as assistant dean and director of the Arts and Sciences Honors Program within the College.

Van der Heijden grew up in the Netherlands, earning her BFA in sculpture and textiles from the Academy of Fine Arts and Art Education in Tilburg, the Netherlands. She received her MFA degree with a distinction in media arts from Ohio State, and was awarded a national MFA juried award, resulting in a solo exhibition in New York. In addition to exhibiting her own work across the U.S. and the Netherlands, she has served as director of the Denison University Art Gallery and as an assistant professor in the School of Art and Art History at the University of Florida.

Most recently she was an integral part of the team that organized the multi-venue exhibition Start At Home: Art from the Frank W. Hale, Jr. Black Cultural Center Collection. The exhibition and concurrent programming is taking place at Urban Arts Space, Hopkins Hall Gallery, Hagerty Hall’s Global Gallery, Hale Center, Thompson Library and King Arts Complex through Nov. 4. In her new role, she will continue to organize and oversee exhibitions, and work closely with artists, students, faculty and staff at Urban Arts Space downtown and Hopkins Hall Gallery on the university campus.

“I’m looking forward to continue building on current partnerships and creating exciting programming that facilitates rich opportunities, connections, and involvement for our students, faculty, and the community,” said van der Heijden.