The Eugene McDermott Director

Description

THE SEARCH

The Dallas Museum of Art seeks an experienced, entrepreneurial, and collaborative executive to serve as Eugene McDermott Director (Director).

Established in 1903, the Dallas Museum of Art has wedded civic enthusiasm and ambition to artistic excellence, scholarly rigor, and institutional growth to build an internationally known collection, community, and destination. At the core of the Museum and its programs is its global collection, encompassing more than 25,000 works of cultural breadth across 5,000 years of history. Anchoring America’s largest arts district and facing the city’s popular new Klyde Warren Park, the Museum acts as a catalyst for activity and creativity, engaging people of all ages and backgrounds with its diverse spectrum of programming from exhibitions, education programs, and lectures to concerts, literary events, and dramatic and dance presentations. Please visit https://dma.org/about to learn more.

The Museum has retained the national executive search firm Isaacson, Miller, to assist in the recruitment of its next Director. Please direct all applications, nominations, and inquiries to Isaacson, Miller as indicated at the end of this document.

THE MUSEUM

Progressing through impressive expansions since its founding by 50 invested citizens in 1903, the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) began commanding sustained international attention following its 1984 rebranding as the DMA, aligned with a renewed focus on important contemporary acquisitions and exhibitions and innovative education programming within a rapidly growing metropolis.  The DMA is an encyclopedic collection of European, American, Pre-Columbian, and African art, with  notable strengths in the 18th through 20th centuries. The Museum’s growth can be directly attributed to notably substantial donations, including Margaret McDermott, one of Dallas’ most dedicated philanthropists and the most generous single benefactor in DMA’s history who contributed more than 3,100 works to the Museum. After her passing in 2018, her final gift of 32 19th and early 20th century impressionist and modern artworks added significant prominence to the DMA’s collection. In 2005, renowned philanthropists and collectors Marguerite and Robert Hoffman, Cindy and Howard Rachofsky, and Deedie and Rusty Rose made a transformational gift with their pledge to donate a joint and growing contribution of 900 artworks valued at more than $300 million at the time. This gift, already visible, will vastly expand the Museum’s holdings and affirm the DMA as a preeminent destination of contemporary art for generations to come.

Today, the DMA and Dallas enjoy international prominence as a home for bold and generous initiatives dedicated to artistic excellence and impact. The DMA is guided by its core mission statement:

• Place art and diverse communities at the center around which all activities radiate.
• Pursue excellence in collecting and programming, present works of art across cultures and time, and be a driving force in contemporary art.
• Strengthen DMA’s position as a prominent, innovative institution, expanding the meaning and possibilities of learning and creativity.

For more than 120 years, the DMA has served as the city’s flagship museum and anchor in the Arts District. Throughout its history, the DMA has evolved and transformed to serve the people of Dallas and an expanding global audience. At each inflection point, the Museum has mirrored and empowered the city’s ambitions.

CURRENT CONTEXT

Dallas is again at a moment of significant change. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is flourishing, diversifying, and growing; it is forecast to become America’s third-largest urban center by the 2030s. To meet this transformation, the DMA has been planning for its next chapter and recently launched Looking Forward: A New DMA. Through inclusive community input, thoughtful strategic planning, a comprehensive facilities assessment, and a global design competition that drew stellar architectural teams, the DMA has crafted a road map to reimagine its physical space for the first time in nearly four decades. Through a boldly redesigned campus, the DMA will help shape the way the diverse Dallas communities engage with and experience art for generations to come.

ROLE OF THE DIRECTOR: LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Reporting to and engaging with the Board, the Director will live and love art to inspire, innovate, educate, and execute a bold institutional vision and position for the DMA. A tested chief executive,