Deana Haggag

Deana Haggag is an American arts organization leader. She is the Program Director for Arts and Culture at Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Formerly, Haggag was the president and CEO of United States Artists (2017–2020),

Early life and education Haggag was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey.

In 2009, Haggag received a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University–Newark, where she majored in Art History and Philosophy. In 2013, Haggag earned a Master of Fine Arts at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, where she majored in Curatorial Practice.

Career From 2017 until May 2020, Haggag served as the president and CEO of United States Artists in Chicago, which provides US$50,000 "fellowships to artists working in architecture and design, crafts, dance, literature, media, music, theater and performance, traditional arts, and visual arts." She had formerly been Executive Director of The Contemporary from 2013 until 2017. At age 26, she became Executive Director and sole employee, relaunching the organization following its closure for approximately 18-months. During her tenure, the museum's staff grew to five employees and its budget increased from US$40,000 to over US$500,000. Cultured Magazine, Artspace, Hyperallergic among other publications. At Vogue, Rebecca Bengal praised Haggag's role in national efforts to protect arts funding: