Director [Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, New York City, NY]

Description

As the only museum in the world dedicated to exhibiting and preserving art that speaks to many aspects of the LGBTQ (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer) experience, the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art inspires, educates, and challenges all who enter its doors.  The Museum originated in 1987 as a nonprofit foundation established by Charles W. Leslie and Fritz Lohman who supported and exhibited works by LGBTQ artists in their gallery for more than 30 years.  In recognition of the Museum’s cultural value as an institution dedicated to collecting and promoting queer art and artists, the New York State Board of Regents awarded the Museum an Absolute Charter of Museum Status in July 2106.  An active member of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the Museum will seek accreditation from the AAM in the near future.

Located in New York City’s iconic SoHo neighborhood, the Museum presents a diverse array or programs, including exhibitions, film screenings, performances, poetry readings, artist and curator talks, and panel discussions.  The Museum also travels exhibitions to other cities and lends work to museums around the world.  Its exhibitions are regularly featured and reviewed in the New York Times, Art Forum, Art News and other publications.

During Fall 2016, the Museum will complete its expansion into an adjacent storefront, roughly doubling its footprint by creating a second large exhibition gallery and new offices for museum staff.  The two large galleries will allow for a continuous and more flexible programming schedule while expanding and updating the Museum’s storage facility.  A longer term goal is to acquire a dedicated building to house the Museum’s exhibition spaces and collections with state of the art conservation facilities, a screening room, library and educational spaces.

The Museum is actively growing its collection of more than 30,000 works and maintaining an artist archive that contains information on more than 2,000 LGBTQ artists, both those represented in the collection and others of interest to LGBTQ audiences.  The Museum also houses a library of more than 1,600 volumes comprising one the most comprehensive collections of published books, catalogues, and pamphlets on LGBTQ art and publishes The ARCHIVE, a quarterly journal about LGBTQ art and artists.

In addition to the Main Gallery, other exhibition spaces include the Wooster St. Window Gallery, featuring work by emerging and established artists and the Prince St. Project Space, curated by

co-founder Charles Leslie, that hosts the weekly Leslie-Lohman Studio and offers weekend exhibitions and special events.

The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art has an operating budget of approximately $1.6 million, a full- and part-time staff of 18, an Internship and Fellowship program, and is governed by a 13-member Board of Directors.  Hunter O’Hanian, the Museum’s well-regarded leader, recently left the Museum to become the Executive Director of the College Art Association.  The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art now seeks a Director.

The position of Director offers an important platform for a visionary and strategic leader to strengthen and build upon the Museum’s position as a significant cultural organization in New York City and a global destination for those interested in queer art. The Director will be a leader, manager, fundraiser and spokesperson with outstanding communication and collaboration  skills.  The Director will be attuned to current political, economic, social and cultural realities; have a clear vision for building and sustaining a vital community of artists, curators, arts professionals, donors, media, and others around the Museum’s vision and programs; and be persuasive, persistent, and creative in the pursuit of the Museum’s goals.

Reporting to the Board of Directors and leading the staff, the Director will share responsibility for setting out a path to achieve the Museum’s far-reaching, exciting, and relevant strategic plan.  The Director will put into motion a forward-thinking strategy, including a fundraising plan, that is aligned with the Museum’s mission and historic core values of artistic experimentation, free expression and LGBTQ advocacy.

The Director will be expected to:

Provide Strategic, Visionary Leadership

• Work with the Board and staff, lead the Museum in setting overall direction and priorities and developing and implementing programmatic and organizational strategies and goals; Work closely with Board and staff to implement the Museum’s current three-year Operational Plan and update the strategic plan regularly;
• In partnership with senior staff, lead the organization’s programmatic work, fundraising, financial management, administration, operations, and human resources; ensure sound financial, operational, and administrative policies and controls are in place and in practice; develop and administer budgets; ensure that funds are invested and spent wisely;
• Develop and sustain a highly collaborative workplace culture that reflects the Museum’s values; ensure open and clear channels of communication; employ transparent decision making;
• Ensure strong internal communication among staff; work closely with senior staff to ensure the flow of relevant information and encourage effective collaboration and coordination between and among teams;
• Regularly coach and evaluate staff performance; enhance opportunities across the organization for personal and professional leadership development; directly supervise senior staff;
• Regularly brief the Board on the status of the organization; remain actively in touch with and well-informed about the Board’s activities and work closely with Board Committee Chairs to advance their Committees’ agendas;

Raise the Visibility of the Museum

• Serve as the Museum’s enthusiastic ambassador and chief public spokesperson, representing the organization to all stakeholders, including donors, artists, partners, and media, locally to internationally;
• Actively share and promote the Museum’s values and history to a diverse and broad public through participation in meetings, conferences, seminars, etc.;
• Work with staff to set annual membership objectives for the organization and set outreach goals;
• Participate in high level arts advocacy and political relationship building;

Increase and Diversify Funding

• In partnership with Board and staff, establish and implement fundraising goals and lead the Museum’s fundraising; use staff and board members’ talents, resources, and ideas to expand fundraising activities; enhance board members’ ability to identify fundraising opportunities and encourage their ongoing participation as donors and solicitors;
• Effectively steward the organization’s current base of supporters and members while also reaching out to new supporters; lead the work to develop new revenue sources beyond traditional philanthropic channels;

Develop Exciting, Relevant and Timely Programs

• Ensure that curatorial goals and programs are aligned with the Museum’s mission, values and vision;
• Ensure programs are relevant and timely, and that artists are given important platforms to grow their practices;
• Regularly cultivate smart partnerships including with prestigious organizations, as well as relevant community-based organizations;
• Actively facilitate sharing of knowledge, strategies for action and best practices.

Requirements

The Director should have:

• A passion for the Museum’s mission and a demonstrated commitment to artistic experimentation, free expression and social justice;
• Strong intellectual and strategic abilities combined with a well-informed understanding of the art world and LGBTQ art and culture; an awareness of current political, economic, social, and cultural issues; a dedication to social justice, and a deep commitment to the role of the artist in public life;
• Significant experience as an inspirational and inspiring public presence, with excellent oral and written communication skills;

• Credibility and experience to connect the Museum to a range of resources and opportunities outside the organization; a successful track record of enthusiastically raising money from a variety of sources, including major donors, is highly desirable;
• Proven senior-level managerial, financial, problem solving, and organizational development experience ideally gained in a mission-driven organization;
• A successful track record as a unifying team builder who inspires collaboration and buy-in among staff; interested in connecting with staff and nurturing their professional growth;
• Proven successful experience working in a variety of diverse contexts and communities with the ability to interact authentically and thoughtfully with a wide array of people; cross-cultural competence; a strong track record of working across the lines of gender, race, class, and culture; Professional experience gained in New York City and an understanding of the city’s political and civic structures is highly desirable;

• Curious, creative, charismatic, and energetic;
• Open, trustworthy, and straightforward; proven ability as an active, keen listener;
• Possess a general working knowledge of American Alliance of Museum procedures and guidelines;
• Mature and self-confident, with a sense of humor and a warm, energetic spirit;
• A Bachelor’s degree is a minimum requirement; a graduate or professional degree in a relevant field is desirable.