Director, President and CEO [Detroit Institute of Arts]

MISSION STATEMENT

The DIA creates experiences that help each visitor find personal meaning in art.

THE INSTITUTION

Background

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), one of the foremost art museums in the United States, is home to more than 60,000 works that comprise a global survey of human creativity from ancient times through the 21^st century.  From the first van Gogh painting to enter a U.S. museum (Self-Portrait, 1887) to Diego Rivera’s world-renowned Detroit Industry murals (1932-33), the DIA’s collection is known for its quality, range and depth.  The museum offers a wide range of special exhibitions, public programs and education initiatives for the Detroit community and visitors from around the globe.  

The Collection

The DIA’s comprehensive collection spans from 25,000 BCE to the present with particular strengths in European painting, Italian Renaissance sculpture, French decorative art, African and African American art, American painting and Islamic textiles.  Rivera’sDetroit Industry (1932-33) fresco cycle is considered to be the finest example of the Mexican muralist’s work in the United States, and one the artist regarded as the most successful project of his career.

It is perhaps the DIA’s famous reinstallation of its permanent collection under Director Graham Beal in 2007 that has come to signify the leading role the DIA has taken in a visitor-focused museum experience, one all the more significant for the reputation the DIA had long endured of

being an elite institution lacking a vibrant connection with, or interest in, the majority of its citizens.  The highly collaborative and intensely researched reinstallation was based on themes (called Big Ideas) that emerged from the strengths of the collection, all of which can be seen to be rooted in shared human experiences.  In other words, art history was “backgrounded” and the general visitor presented with installations based on phenomena familiar to all.  Widespread rumors of radical change spawned alarmist copy in the art media (“dumbing down,” “Disneyfication”) and elicited anxiety within the scholarly and professional community, but when the DIA finally reopened that winter, the overall response was highly favorable.  In the year following the DIA’s reopening, museum colleagues from dozens of institutions came to see the new galleries and talk with staff.  The DIA’s reinstallation project became a touchstone for debates about art installations, professional roles and responsibilities, gallery interactivity and the role of visitors in planning processes.

The DIA has for most of its history been defined as a public-private municipal museum with a world-class collection whose fortunes have been closely linked with the finances of its hometown.  After an internationally observed and heroic series of campaigns that culminated in the Grand Bargain in January 2014 to preserve the integrity of the DIA and its collection for Detroit, Michigan and beyond, the DIA now finds itself without debt, with great opportunity, in sole legal ownership and possession of this renowned collection and institutionally independent, if still very much indebted to those who have made its survival and future success possible.  Detroit has also changed since 2007, becoming a beacon for creatives interested in the urban fabric, rich history, transitional moment and community found there.  The DIA seeks a leader excited by this transitional moment, the art, the people and the opportunity.

For more information on the museum, please visit to www.dia.org.

THE POSITION

The Director of the DIA is a leader in the field who is eager to chart a dynamic course for the museum and the city, who should also be an influential voice in the cultural renaissance of Detroit and eager ambassador to reach across the state and region to bring Michigan and the world into the DIA and take art across the state.  The Director is responsible for the DIA’s artistic vision, strategic and financial direction and overall management, including its collections, exhibitions and programs, physical plant, human resources, its future growth and development, and the professional practices of collaboration, acquisition, deaccession, preservation, program organization and presentation.

The Director, with the support of, and in partnership with, the Board of Directors, is responsible for the financial health of the museum through civic engagement, fundraising and appropriate earned revenue pursuits.  The staff has been tested over the years and is deeply dedicated, optimistic and committed to artistic excellence, academic research, and the ability to share art with a broad and diverse audience.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND PRIORITIES

Key institutional priorities for an incoming Director include:

Internal Priorities

• Seeking out and gaining the trust and support of the trustees, staff, Detroit and Michigan leadership and finding ways to bring forth new ideas and resources from each;

• Developing a vision and strategy to further position the DIA as a regional and international resource for excellence, scholarship, education and enlightenment;

• Providing leadership with the Board, staff and community to secure the financial independence of the DIA through the planned capital campaign to establish a $400 million unrestricted operating endowment by 2023 necessary to sustain the operations of the DIA;

• Ensuring curatorial excellence and programmatic vision for the museum’s artistic direction and development; planning, streamlining and executing a balanced and forward-thinking exhibition program consistent with the DIA’s collections and stature;

• Assessing and addressing the administrative and infrastructure needs of the institution;

• Securing new gifts to the now-independent collection that previously had been unattainable;

• Investing the time and resources in scholarship to ensure that the museum remains an educational and cultural leader;

• Championing museum best practices with respect to collection management, governance, exhibition planning, acquisitions and facilities;

• Supervising, supporting, retaining and recruiting a highly qualified professional staff; delegating responsibilities and authority appropriately; holding all individuals accountable for personal and collective performance, providing direction and sustaining morale;

• Fostering a transparent and collaborative culture, including open communications with staff and trustees.

External Priorities

• Conveying clearly and with conviction, as an individual and as a world-class institution, the message that the DIA understands, embraces and serves the local, regional and national public, while through excellence and innovation inspires and engages with the international art arena;

• Leading the fundraising efforts to secure the museum’s financial independence;

• Continuing to define the museum’s audiences clearly and expansively; offering and implementing compelling strategies for diverse audience engagement;

• Continuing to enhance the visitor experience; using technology as an innovative strategy to set the museum apart as an institution on the cutting edge in visitor experience;

• Solidifying the museum’s institutional identity, including clear and proactive messaging and branding; enhancing the overall visibility of the museum regionally, nationally and internationally;

• Executing a multifaceted fundraising operation that builds community, civic support and trust along with financial security; embracing the demands of a close working relationship with government and civic leaders that includes maintaining and enhancing financial support;

• Developing collaborative relationships with established and emerging members of the Detroit and Michigan-wide cultural, educational, political and business communities, as well as institutional peers and leaders in the museum field.

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

The Director must be an experienced leader with a record of successful management, and an ambassador with an informed eye and compelling vision to represent the DIA in local, national and international arenas.  The Director must be or have:

• A deep and passionate love of art and of people; a commitment to the highest levels of scholarship and education;

• An innovator, with a vision of the future of museums;

• An enthusiastic and effective fundraiser; practiced in working effectively with trustees;

• Accessible and collaborative, generous of spirit, outgoing, and one who enjoys the social demands of the Director’s role;

• Cultural competency in working with people of different ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds;

• Strong organizational skills, with the ability to be effective under pressure and to handle constant multitasking and diverse constituencies;

• The experience and ability to manage financial operations;

• Integrity, fairness, decisiveness, and good and tempered judgment;

• Credibility and extensive experience in the field, and a strong support network;

• Prior experience with museum operations, government, governance and best museum practices; community driven and civic minded;

• Excellent writing and communication skills;

• Willing and able to sustain a demanding events and travel schedule;

• A self-starter able to bring an entrepreneurial spirit to an established institution; a track record of coalescing others around objectives and their successful implementation.

Please send applications and nominations to Sarah James and Becky Klein at DIA@PhillipsOppenheim.com.