ROCHESTER ART CENTER SEEKS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ABOUT THE POSITION

The Executive Director is responsible for maintaining RAC’s artistic mission and business operations, both of which rely on strong financial management and ongoing development of a donor base to sustain long-term programming. An essential element of this position is maintaining and strengthening collaborative relationships simultaneously within the local community and the contemporary art world. Internally, the Executive Director will mentor and motivate a talented staff and work with and report a dedicated board of directors.

Principal Responsibilities

• Sustain, articulate, and implement RAC’s mission and vision

• In collaboration with board and staff, create and implement long and short-term plans

• Oversee an ambitious exhibition schedule • In collaboration with the Director of Development, develop and maintain philanthropic support

• Foster and maintain collaborative community relationships within both the public and private sectors

• Ensure the organization maintains best practices in visual arts exhibitions and education

• Implement board policies

• Manage and mentor staff

• Serve as the primary spokesperson for the organization

• Create and manage the annual operating budget

Credentials of Ideal Candidate

• MA or PhD art history, curatorial practice, art administration or related field.

• At least 5 years of experience working in a visual arts organization or museum preferably in senior administrative positions.

• Possesses a passion for and knowledge of contemporary art.

• A strong advocate for artists and visual art audiences.

• Has strong professional relationships in the regional, national and international contemporary art communities.

• The candidate can demonstrate a record of creative and visionary leadership and has the ability to inspire, guide and motivate a talented professional team. Has demonstrated an ability to negotiate and delegate, yet remain clear, decisive, proactive and fair.

• Demonstrated success in cultivating and building relationships with a variety of constituents including major donors, members, foundations, nonprofits, cultural organizations, and academic institutions as well as civic, corporate and political leaders.

• Demonstrated fundraising and development skills.

• Familiarity with museum best practices and trends in the field.

• Ability to interpret financial statements and articulate financial performance as well as create and manage an annual operating budget.

• A skilled communicator with demonstrated experience in public speaking and professional writing.

The ideal candidate would have the following personal competencies:

A Relationship Builder & Ambassador

• A vision and passion for the future of Rochester Art Center.

• An articulate, dynamic and diplomatic communicator who enjoys building relationships and connections.

• Strong creative, collaborative and interpersonal skills and an ability to overcome obstacles.

• The ability to develop a powerful sense of shared purpose in others and to motivate them to meet the opportunities and challenges ahead.

• An Orientation towards Exhibitions, Programming & Community

• Effectively plans and implements a compelling and diverse exhibition schedule.

• Knowledge of and relationships with other cultural institutions around the country.

• Experience working with contemporary art, exhibition planning, community engagement and funding and implementation

• Respected among peers.

• Has a commitment to reaching out to a diverse community.

• Enthusiastically embraces the Rochester community professionally and personally.

• Provides leadership both inside and outside the Museum itself. Fundraising & Development

• Proven fundraiser who energetically embraces this aspect of a Museum Director’s role.

• Able to cultivate relationships with a variety of donors, including individual donors and corporations.

Business Acumen and Management Skills

• A strong track record of success in Board relations and a willingness to actively engage Board members.

• Results-oriented and practical business sense.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to prepare and deliver concise, understandable and effective reports and presentations.

• Strategic planning and execution skills.

• Demonstrate experience attracting, retaining and motivating top talent.

• Maturity, a sense of humor and an outgoing, inclusive personality.

Salary negotiable

Contact: To express your interest in this role, please submit a letter of interest and resume to jlovelace@rochesterartcenter.com. A Rochester Art Center Board Search Committee will lead the search. All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential. Please, no phone calls. 

ROCHESTER ART CENTER VISION To be a cultural center for innovation and creativity through contemporary art.

MISSION Rochester Art Center offers the opportunity for all people to understand and value the arts through innovative experiences with contemporary art. Through world-class exhibitions and programs, we present a welcoming, integrated, and diverse experience that encourages questioning, creativity, and critical thinking. These exhibitions and programs are designed to reflect the dynamic relationship between art and society. They educate, challenge, and connect individuals to our world in compelling new ways. We are committed to being a cultural center in our community and to enhancing our region as a destination for creativity and innovation. We provide value through engagement with broad communities, strong collaborations with other organizations, and a history of excellence.

ABOUT ROCHESTER ART CENTER A leading center for contemporary art, Rochester Art Center (RAC) is a non-collecting art institution located in the heart of Rochester’s historic downtown on the Zumbro River. Designed by Hammel, Green and Abrahamson (HGA), the Art Center’s simple and clean design works harmoniously with nature – linking the indoors to the outside to create a shimmering complement to the river below. The Art Center shares a connection to Mayo Park with Mayo Civic Center and Rochester Civic Theatre. Founded in 1946, Rochester Art Center presents an ongoing schedule of exhibitions, across a broad spectrum, of new and innovative work by local, regional, national, and international artists; dynamic education programs for all ages; and an active program of community partnerships and visitor engagement initiatives. The mission of Rochester Art Center (RAC) is to offer the opportunity for all people to understand and value the arts through innovative experiences with contemporary art. Through world-class exhibitions and programs, we present a welcoming, integrated, and diverse experience that encourages questioning, creativity, and critical thinking. These exhibitions and programs are designed to reflect the dynamic relationship between art and society. They educate, challenge, and connect individuals to our world in compelling new ways. We are committed to being a cultural center in our community and to enhancing our region as a destination for creativity and innovation. We provide value through engagement with broad communities, strong collaborations with other organizations, and a history of excellence. Rochester Art Center operates in a 36,000 square-foot facility containing a variety of flexible gallery spaces, two classrooms, and a large public gathering space. As a non-collecting institution, RAC focuses on presenting groundbreaking and internationally significant exhibitions that support the development, reception and interpretation of contemporary art. In addition, we offer compelling and unique public and educational programs as well as resources for regional and local artists. The organization has an annual operating budget of just under $1,000,000 with 10 full-time professional staff. Since 2010, Rochester Art Center has presented exhibitions with artists such as: Inigo Manglano-Ovalle, Henny Linn Kjellberg, Tim Eitel, Judy Onofrio, Roman Signar, Tony Tassett, Chiharu Shiota, Lamar Peterson, Allison Schulnik, David Rathman, John Gossage, Rachel Khedoori, Chris Larson, Catharina van Eetvelde, Hank Willis Thomas, Michael Sailstorfer, Marina Zurkow, and Alessandro Balteo Yazbeck, among others. Rocheste Art Center is committed to the art of our time and culture and has advanced its publications and support of new scholarship.

HISTORY Rochester Art Center began in 1946 as a dream of its first board president Newton Holland. Nearly seventy years later, Rochester Art Center continues to offer patrons and diverse audiences the opportunity to know, practice, and enjoy the arts. The founding board members wanted “to join with the schools, the churches, the library and other community groups to make Rochester a cultural center worthy of its scientific achievement,” as stated in Art Center’s original mission statement. Its first humble home began in the unused upstairs rooms of the Rochester Public Library, moving in 1948 to a small abandoned church on the corner of West Center Street and Third Avenue Northwest. Holland, Dr. Hiram Essex and other art patrons led a fund drive that enabled the purchase of the church and lease of the lot on which it stood. Their fund drive provided the monies to build a balcony, loft, furnace, and toilet. Their first exhibition: “Everyday Art for Everybody,” held April, 1948 featured a display of well-designed, useful articles for the home. However, RAC board realized by the mid-1950’s that the little church was too small to accommodate all the art center’s many activities, including classes, exhibitions, lectures, demonstrations, meetings, and even the first rehearsals and founding meeting of the Rochester Civic Theatre. The board of directors requested public land in Mayo Park from the City of Rochester and the City Council granted their request. On November 15, 1956, Rochester Art Center leased land along the Zumbro River for 50 years for the sum of one dollar per year. The groundbreaking ceremony occurred on September 1, 1957, followed by a fund drive to build a new art center. The new building opened March 23, 1958. During the 1950’s Rochester Art Center included exhibitions that featured local, regional, national, and international art, such as the 1959 touring exhibition of Israeli Art, traveling under the auspices of Jerusalem Art Center in New York. Through the years, Rochester Art Center continued to feature work from a diverse range of artists. In the late 1990s, the expansion of the Mayo Civic Center severely decreased access to the Art Center, making it imperative to move. The Board of Directors launched a Capital Campaign in 1999, which reached the goal of $8.2 million in 2003. The Art Center moved into its new 36,000 square-foot facility in spring of 2004. In 2010, the Board of Directors and staff embarked on a strategic planning initiative, setting the goals for RAC for the next 6 years. It was adapted in 2011, and in 2015 we have achieved 90 % of our goals. In 2014, we celebrated our 10th anniversary in our new home and 10th anniversary of presenting great exhibitions, engaging programs, and community rich partnerships.

ARCHITECTURE Opened in 2004, the 36,000 square-foot Rochester Art Center expresses itself as two architectural forms, one covered in copper and the other zinc-covered, linked by a glass atrium that frames views west to downtown Rochester and east to the river corridor. The south side of the building is encased in zinc and houses the galleries and classroom studios. The building’s copper-covered north tower, which ties the Art Center to the Mayo Civic Center, provides basic service functions, such as stairs and elevators and other building support functions. The copper tower also serves as the structural anchor for the east end of the building, allowing it to cantilever over the city’s bike path and extend out over the river. Visitors enter the Art Center on the first level and transition into the soaring, three-story Wells Fargo Atrium and Mayo Clinic Grand Lobby. The stunning introduction to the building allows visitors to relate with the Zumbro River, Mayo Park and downtown Rochester. The interiors are designed with white walls, polished concrete floors and glass windows. A dramatic suspended atrium stairway provides access to the second and third floors. Simple and clean, the design works together with nature – linking the indoors to the outside, creating an environment that glows with light from the interplay of sun on the glass and natural metals used throughout. As the sun sets, the building’s copper and zinc panels reflect the sun’s subtle colors and create a shimmering complement to the river below. Our thanks to Hammel, Green and Abrahamson (HGA) architectural firm and Kara Hill, lead Project Designer, for their vision, talent and enthusiasm and support of the project, a dream for RAC, now in our 11th year of our beautiful home.