Dr. Charlie Garling is the inaugural Delaware North Director of Learning & Creativity at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and a member of the museum's senior leadership team. In this role, he provides strategic leadership for learning, interpretation, public engagement, accessibility, and community and university partnerships, guiding a multidisciplinary department while participating in institution-wide strategy, organizational change, and policy development. He focuses on how museums connect people with art, ideas, and one another through meaningful experiences.
During the museum's $230 million campus transformation and reopening, Garling reimagined the museum's approach to audience engagement through a redesigned portfolio of programs and initiatives grounded in co-creation, community partnership, and visitor relevance. He led the development of the museum's first institution-wide interpretive framework, establishing a coordinated approach to exhibition interpretation and visitor experience across the institution. He also directed the vision and implementation of the museum's learning and engagement infrastructure, including dedicated studios for artmaking and digital media, a Family Room for young children and caregivers, and Creative Commons—a play-based learning environment developed in partnership with the LEGO Foundation. Together, these initiatives advanced a broader institutional shift toward participatory, audience-centered engagement. He also co-curated Made at the Museum, a Buffalo AKG exhibition featuring artists with disabilities that highlighted the museum's long-standing commitment to accessibility.
Previously, Garling served as the inaugural Director of Studio Programs at the Detroit Institute of Arts, where he led creative engagement programs for audiences of all ages and abilities. He founded the museum's first public art initiative, building partnerships among artists, municipalities, and communities to create murals and sculptures throughout Southeast Michigan. The initiative strengthened regional relationships, expanded the museum's civic presence, and contributed to sustained public trust during the successful renewal of the museum's tri-county millage, which today provides approximately 70 percent of the museum's operating support.
His work has been recognized by Artnet, The Art Newspaper, ArtDaily, The New York Times, Buffalo Toronto Public Media, and other regional media. He has presented at MuseumNext, the French American Museum Exchange (FRAME), and other museum and cultural forums on topics including play, co-creation, visitor experience, and the evolving civic role of museums.
Garling began his career as a public school art teacher, spending thirteen years in Dearborn Public Schools while simultaneously serving as a museum educator at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Working across public education and museums provided an enduring perspective on how cultural institutions, schools, and communities intersect to support learning, belonging, and civic life. This dual perspective continues to inform his approach to museum leadership, interpretation, and public engagement. During this period, he also served on the Art Education Advisory Council at the College for Creative Studies.
He holds a Doctor of Education in Learning and Teaching in Social Contexts from the University at Buffalo, a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education from Michigan State University. His award-winning dissertation, Permission to Play, examines how playful engagement can restore cognitive and somatic reserves while reducing psychological barriers that can inhibit a genuine sense of belonging in cultural institutions.