Cecelia “Keffie” Feldman lives up to her nickname.
Its roots trace back to Israel, where her parents were living at the time of her birth. They felt “Cecelia Ann Feldman,” a tribute to her great-grandmother, was too weighty for a newborn. Her mother toyed with an anagram of her initials — CAF — until Israeli friends suggested “Kef,” or “Keffie,” Hebrew slang for fun or cool, and the name stuck.
Fast forward to last year, when Feldman’s visit to South Florida led to a career-defining moment.
On a birthday weekend trip to Boca Raton, Feldman and her husband, Tom Paret — an IT director at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst — were attending a Ripe concert at the Mizner Park Amphitheater.
Paret noticed the adjacent museum and thought it would be a great place for Feldman to work.
“As things turned out,” she says, “I saw they were looking for a curator and I jumped at the chance.”
A year and a day later, Feldman is returning to that very spot — not as a visitor, but as the newly appointed chief curator of the Boca Raton Museum of Art. She began work Nov. 17.
“I am thrilled to be joining the Boca Raton Museum of Art at this exciting moment in its institutional history,” she says. “With a strong collection and engaged leadership, the museum is well-positioned to be the cultural center of the city.”
Feldman came to her work as a curator after earning a Ph.D. from Brown University in archaeology and the ancient world, with a specialty in Greek and Roman art. She taught at UMass Amherst for five years before realizing she wanted to explore other career options.
After a friend introduced her to a fellowship opportunity at the Mead Art Museum in Amherst, Feldman says, “I had found my escape hatch from academia.”
At the Mead, Feldman discovered a silver object in their collection that had been forgotten for 50 years.
She then went on to the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum in South Hadley, Mass., and most recently was the chief curator at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, Conn. There, she mounted 15 unique shows each calendar year and oversaw the museum’s collection of more than 12,000 objects.
She was also instrumental in repatriating a Native American ceremonial rattle in the museum’s archives to the Seneca-Cayuga Nation of Oklahoma in 2022.
“With my background in Greek and Roman art and archaeology, I like to look for interesting stories and how they are relevant to the world we live in now,” Feldman says. “How can I communicate these elements in an interesting, accessible and engaging way?”
In 2024, an exhibit she conceived and curated titled Stitching the Revolution: Quilts as Agents of Change, showcased both historic and contemporary quilts over a span of 200 years, as a medium of expression and progressive ideas.
“The exhibit complicates our assumptions,” Feldman says. “It’s a cross-section of artists of varying genders, ages and sexual orientations.”
The exhibit won the New England Museum Association’s Specific Excellence Award and was recognized by the Connecticut League of Museums with a 2024 Award of Merit. The exhibit will travel nationwide from 2026 to 2028.
Additionally, she has curated more than 20 original exhibitions, including Modern Women: Georgia O’Keeffe and Kay Sage (2025).
Coming to Boca Raton is a dream realized for the Boston native.
She was impressed by the location (“fantastic”); its architecture (“beautiful”) and the abundance of gallery space (“lovely”). Her focus will be on expanding the collection and developing exhibitions that resonate with both local and national audiences.
At the Boca Raton Museum of Art, Feldman will work closely with Ena Heller, the museum’s CEO, to oversee all aspects of the curatorial responsibilities with a focus on highlighting the museum as a destination for modern and contemporary art.
One of her first priorities will be to rethink the exhibition schedule and to reinstall the museum’s permanent installation galleries, refocusing them on the community’s interest.
Her vision aligns with the museum’s leadership, including that of Heller, who praised Feldman’s appointment.
“Keffie distinguished herself among a very competitive pool of candidates by her comprehensive art historical knowledge, collaborative curatorial practice, and inclusive approach to education in museums,” Heller said in a prepared statement. “She is a passionate communicator with a warm presence who will be a wonderful ambassador for our institution throughout South Florida and nationally.”
For Feldman, she believes taking on this new role is an opportunity to build on the museum’s reputation of excellence and focus on education, community and accessibility under Heller’s new leadership.
Feldman says the time is right to trade Massachusetts winters for South Florida’s sun and creative energy.
Once situated, she plans to explore the region’s art offerings, visit other museums, snorkel, practice yoga, and, of course, immerse herself in Boca Raton’s live music scene.
“I look forward to getting to know the Boca Raton and South Florida community,” she says. “The museum is about more than art — it’s a place to connect, reflect and imagine. I’m excited to help shape that future.”