Stefano Catalani joined Bellevue Arts Museum in 2005 as Curator and was appointed Director of Curatorial Affairs/Artistic Director in February of 2010. He has conceived and organized 17 (and rising) acclaimed exhibitions exploring the ever-evolving field of art, craft and design. Major exhibitions include ÜberPortrait, Ed Pien: Haven, Dim Sum at the On-On Tea Room: The Jewelry of Ron Ho and Garry Knox Bennett: Call Me Chairmaker, among others. Paying special tribute to Northwest artists, Catalani has showcased the work of some of the most promising talents of this region, including Mandy Greer, John Grade, Etsuko Ichikawa and Tip Toland. Four exhibitions curated by Catalani have gone on nationwide tours to other museum venues, introducing on-the-rise craft artists to new audiences across the continent. Traveling exhibitions include A Tapestry of Memory: The Art of Dinh Q Lê, Mandy Greer: Dare alla Luce, Garry Knox Bennett: Call Me Chairmaker and Ed Pien: Haven.

During his tenure at BAM, Catalani has written and/or contributed to nine exhibition catalogues published by Bellevue Arts Museum; among them an award winner from the American Association of Museums (2007, Dim Sum at the On-On Tea Room: The Jewelry of Ron Ho).

Highly regarded in the field of contemporary art, Catalani has been chosen as a nominator for many awards, including the Neddy Fellowship Award (Behnke Foundation, Seattle, WA), the Irving and Yvonne Twining Humber Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement (Artist Trust, Seattle, WA) and the Contemporary Northwest Art Awards (Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR). He also serves as a guest lecturer at the University of Washington, Evergreen State College and other educational institutions.

An Italian native, Catalani relocated to Seattle in 2001. His classic studies in Italy provided him with a strong theoretical background in art history and philosophy. At Bellevue Arts Museum, he focuses on “craft as a cultural signifier,” stressing the social implications of craft.