Santa Barbara Museum of Art announces appointment of new Director
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Saturday, November 2, 2024


Santa Barbara Museum of Art announces appointment of new Director
Cruz comes to SBMA from the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) where she served as the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director and CEO since 2019. Photo: Alborz Kamalizad.



SANTA BARBARA, CA.- The Santa Barbara Museum of Art announced the appointment of Amada Cruz as the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Director and CEO effective October 30, 2023. Presented by the Museum’s selection committee, Cruz was subsequently voted unanimously by the Board of Trustees.

“We are grateful to the more than 100 stakeholders, including members of the community, employees, Trustees (past and present), and donors who participated in the selection process. Their inputs were used to inform our decision making and following an international search and reviewing many impressive candidates, we are delighted with the outcome,” said Lynn Cunningham Brown, selection committee chair.

Cruz comes to SBMA from the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) where she served as the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director and CEO since 2019. She states, “I am thrilled to be joining SBMA with its important mission ‘to integrate art into the lives of people.’ That inspiring charge is a call to engage the different communities of the Santa Barbara region by increasing the Museum’s local relevance and global visibility. I look forward to working with the staff and Board to build upon the strong foundation of scholarly exhibitions and robust educational programs established under my predecessor, Larry Feinberg. As we move through the 21st century, museums are being challenged to prove their purpose by centering audiences and building community. The varied collections and programs of SBMA offer myriad ways to celebrate and embrace a rapidly diversifying population.”

Nicholas Mutton, SBMA Board Chair, states “Amada has a proven track record as a consummate professional, a visionary leader, and a change agent who has succeeded wherever she has been. We are embracing a wonderful opportunity at this moment in time. This change will allow us to craft together a compelling strategic vision for the future, engage with the Santa Barbara community, champion inclusion, diversity, equity, and access, empower and inspire our Museum staff, and enhance the institution’s resources.” He adds, “The Museum is thankful to Larry Feinberg, retiring at the end of this year, for his contributions during his successful 15-year tenure at SBMA.”

Over her 30-year career, Cruz has held posts as the Director of the Phoenix Art Museum; Executive Director at San Antonio-based Artpace, an artist residency program; Director of the Center for Curatorial Studies Museum at Bard College, where she co-organized the first US museum survey of Takashi Murakami’s work; and Acting Chief Curator and Manilow Curator of Exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Cruz has also worked as a grant maker and was the founding Program Director for United States Artists in Los Angeles, where she formed longstanding relationships with artists around the country and was responsible for all programming activities of a Ford and Rockefeller Foundations initiative. She also has been Executive Director of Artadia: The Fund for Art and Dialogue in New York City, which awarded grants to visual artists in San Francisco, Houston, and Chicago.

Born in Havana, Cuba, Cruz received a bachelor’s degree in art history and political science at New York University. She received the 2018 Virginia Cardenas Arts Advocacy Award by Xico, an Arizona cultural institution serving Latinx and Indigenous artists. In 2015, W Magazine named her one of the 11 most powerful female museum directors in America.










Today's News

July 29, 2023

Jeffrey Gibson to represent United States at 60th Venice Biennale in 2024

Contemporary African royals, in regalia and complexity

'Abstract Flash: Unseen Andrew Wyeth' opening at Brandywine Museum of Art

A guide to art exhibitions in New York and Massachusetts

Santa Barbara Museum of Art announces appointment of new Director

Summer Fine Jewelry & Timepieces auction by Clars this August

Toledo Museum of Art appoints Mike Deetsch as director of development

'Elizabeth Blackadder and John Houston: A Journey Shared' opens today at Royal Scottish Academy

New Museum elects new members to Board of Trustees

Has Scott Joplin's 'Thoroughly American Opera' found its moment?

François Ghebaly opens "This Must Be the Place"

Mirko Baselgia depicts diversity and complexity of our reality in exhibition at Galerie Urs Meile Ardez

'Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea' at the Smithsonian American Art Museum features 48 artists

'Purgatory and Conflicted' opens at C24 Gallery

Photofairs New York announces exhibitor and program highlights for its inaugural edition in September

Julian Barry, who made Lenny Bruce into 'Lenny,' dies at 92

Grief in the small Irish village where a singer sought sanctuary

Bill Geddie, a creator of 'The View,' is dead at 68

Review: Young bros and maidens harmonize in 'Love's Labor's Lost'

Wrestling with his past. And an animatronic shark.

Jesse Krimes to officially join Jack Shainman Gallery as Founder and Director of the Center for Art & Advocacy

Historic New Paltz documents translated with a grant from the Dutch Consulate

Hawkeye's combat boots and dog tags sell for $125,000 at Heritage Auctions

Ernie Banks' first pro contract and Baseball Hall of Fame ring bookend historic auction from the estate of Mr. Cub

Best 5 Watchseries Alternative Sites to Stream Movies and TV Shows

Best Gifts On Raksha Bandhan For Sister To Show Your Brotherly Love

Boost Team Morale with Memorable Michigan Corporate Retreats

Loris Gréaud Prepares to inflitrate the Petit Palais

Buy YouTube Views 100% Real, Active, Cheap




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful