The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University announced today that Dan Byers has been named its new director. Byers will be tasked with creating a long-range vision for the center, overseeing its exhibitions and programs, and developing a platform that builds upon its community of students, faculty, artists, and local residents. He will assume his responsibilities on June 1.

“Dan Byers has a wealth of curatorial expertise, and he is arriving when ambitions for the arts at Harvard are stronger than ever,” Robin Kelsey, Harvard’s dean of the arts and humanities, said. “I look forward to supporting his efforts to make the Carpenter Center buzz and spark.”

Byers has served as senior curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston since 2015. His recent ICA projects include solo exhibitions of Diane Simpson and Geoffrey Farmer, as well as the group exhibitions “The Artist’s Museum” and the “2017 Foster Prize Exhibition.” Previously, Byers was curator of modern and contemporary art at the Carnegie Museum of Art, where he was cocurator, with Daniel Baumann and Tina Kukielski, of the 2013 Carnegie International. He has also held positions at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia. He has taught at Lesley University and Carnegie Mellon University.

“Le Corbusier’s emblematic building orchestrates overlapping programs of galleries, cinematheque, archive, studios, bookstore, classrooms, and commons,” Byers said. “These activities provide a rich context for presenting contemporary art exhibitions and events. I foresee a diverse program with artists at its center, building on CCVA’s recent reinvigoration, to create a program that is locally and internationally relevant, experimental, and inclusive, the kind of art center we need now more than ever.”