NEW YORK, NY.- Patrick Sears, Executive Director of the Rubin Museum of Art, will retire from his position after serving for five years in the role, as well as six years prior as the Rubin’s Chief Operating Officer. Sears and Board President Bob Baylis announced his decision to museum staff today. He will continue to lead the Museum through 2017 or until a new Executive Director is named and begins their term.

Under Sears’ direction, the Rubin Museum has become the pre-eminent museum of Himalayan art and its preservation, and programs related to the ideas of the region, as well as a beloved oasis for New Yorkers. As director, he cemented the museum’s reputation as a beautiful, vibrant physical space that inspires insights into the issues of our times.

“I was given the opportunity to join the Rubin while it was still in development. Since we opened in 2004, it’s not only West 17th Street that has been transformed, but the cultural landscape of the city, as well as the expectations of visitors,” Sears said. “I’m fortunate to have had a hand in shaping the Rubin Museum experience for our almost two million visitors to date.”

“Patrick’s leadership, commitment, and vision have unlocked the potential for the Rubin Museum’s growth, and he will leave behind both tremendous groundwork and a legacy for the next director to build upon,” said Bob Baylis, Board President. “By staying attuned to ever-shifting cultural audiences, the Rubin has ventured into new territory, shaping dialogue with visitors and creating unique access points for the art and understanding of the Himalayan region and our shared cultural values. From the annual Dream-Over, where visitors sleep and dream under works of art, to exhibitions with provocative titles like ‘Remember that You Will Die,’ Patrick has led a team that has not shied away from taking risks for the museum, and visitors in turn have reaped the rewards.”

With the trustees’ active participation, Sears ushered in a new period of financial growth for the institution, deftly benefitting from the sale of the museum’s underutilized real estate at a time when real property sales were at a peak to create the funding stability that undergirded investments in programmatic expansion. The Rubin’s many accomplishments under Sears’ tenure include an increase in annual visitorship, a hardy financial underpinning of $130 million, and growth and refinement of the museum’s collection, which culminated in the recent acquisition of the White Beryl manuscript and the inception of a comprehensive collection assessment. The museum also published more than a dozen books under Sears’ tenure, advancing Himalayan art scholarship worldwide, and through collaboration with many of the world’s most prominent institutions, created thought-provoking exhibitions that extended the themes from the museum’s own collection. Sears’ retirement follows on the Rubin Museum cementing its focus on serving as a bold and publicly engaged institution.

From the beginning, Sears’ passion has been delivering art and ideas to new audiences. Exhibitions and programs have bridged contemporary ideas with the timeless wisdom reflected in the museum’s Himalayan art collection, inviting visitors to consider life’s biggest questions. The installation of a Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room quickly became a visitor favorite, and in 2016 was expanded to a permanent home in the museum with support from an online crowdsourcing campaign. Social media and digital marketing efforts were expanded under Sears, as the Rubin Museum found new ways to reach a worldwide online audience. Local engagement also remained a priority, including the creation of the Rubin Museum Block Party in 2014 as an annual, free, community event drawing thousands of visitors.

In line with the founders’ vision and the institution’s mission, Sears consistently spearheaded efforts to connect the Rubin Museum’s art to the broader issues of our time. The exhibitions program frequently bridges traditional and contemporary art and ideas, an approach that will be an increasing priority for the institution. In 2015, following massive earthquakes in Nepal, Sears created a museum-wide initiative to honor Nepal’s unique cultural heritage, including an online Google Art exhibition, museum art installation and programming, collaboration with international institutions, and online resources to support Nepal’s people and cultural preservation in the aftermath of the disaster. Programs like the annual Brainwave series and weekly Mindfulness Meditation sessions highlight common threads between science, psychology, and Himalayan art and traditions. Values and ideas inherent in the Rubin Museum’s art collection have permeated many of the programs and exhibitions, providing further connections, and expanding impact and audience.

“For the last decade, I’ve been privileged to oversee an incredible, nimble and young institution, with the most amazing staff, and during a time of unprecedented change in a rapidly shifting landscape. Bringing sometimes competing needs into alignment has been both a rewarding challenge and a wonderful experience,” Sears said. “This is the perfect moment in the museum’s trajectory to bring on the Rubin’s next leader, who can galvanize the community around our dynamic vision in which the art and ideas speak to today’s increasingly complex world.”