Current Opportunities

About the Sun Valley Museum of Art

Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the Sun Valley Museum of Art (SVMoA), formerly the Sun Valley Center for the Arts and Humanities, was founded on the belief that a community cannot be built solely from the presence of a beautiful mountain but needs arts and culture to be both vital and sustainable. Located in Ketchum/Sun Valley, Idaho, SVMoA is the oldest arts organization in the Wood River Valley and one of only five institutions in Idaho accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

Known for punching above its weight, SVMoA is recognized as a thought leader in the state and region. Below are highlights of exhibiting and visiting artists since 2000:

Program Accolades

17   MacArthur Genius Award Winners

75   Exhibiting Artists who have participated in Whitney Biennials

10   Pulitzer Prize Winners

52   Grammy Award Winning Musicians

94   Exhibiting Artists who are Guggenheim Fellows

130 Exhibiting Artists whose work is in The Metropolitan Museum of Art

145 Exhibiting Artists whose work is in MOMA

37   Dance Company Performances & School Residency Work

460 Concerts

A contemporary museum with free admission, SVMoA functions as a kunsthalle or non-collecting museum. This approach allows the Museum to focus on timely, relevant, and thought-provoking arts and education programs and exhibitions that resonate with the public in advancing the Museum's mission to enrich the community through transformative arts and educational experiences.

SVMoA curates with flexibility and changes its exhibitions several times a year by addressing through its BIG IDEA projects topics that are challenging, engaging, and current. This multidisciplinary method weaves together visual art exhibitions, film, lectures, music, and classes. BIG IDEA projects are developed in collaboration with other local non-profit organizations and businesses, using expertise from all avenues to explore a subject in depth. Click here to learn more about the most recent BIG IDEA: Untrammeled: At Wilderness' Edge.

A fundamental component of SVMoA's mission is to provide exceptional learning experiences for all ages and skill levels in the Museum and the classroom. SVMoA works with local schools to inspire students' curiosity and develop their improvisation, self-expression, and critical thinking skills. The arts-in-education program includes student and teacher tours of the Museum's exhibitions, classroom enrichment activities, professional artist-in-residencies, and local student and educator scholarships. Since the scholarship program's inception in 1998, SVMoA has awarded over $1 million to students and educators.

About Sun Valley

The Sun Valley area is the ideal place to live, work, and play. Sun Valley’s thousands of acres of public land offer a bevy of year-round on- and off-mountain adventures for all types of outdoor enthusiasts. Along with its famous 220 km of Nordic skiing trails and its Olympic Nordic training center, Sun Valley has a bounty of fishing, hiking, rafting, and mountain biking activities for pros and amateurs.

Sun Valley also has a thriving arts community offering a variety of cultural opportunities (e.g., concerts, theater productions, dance productions, film festivals, and lectures) for its residents and visitors. In addition to SVMoA, the Wood River Valley area is home to the Sun Valley Writers Conference, Sun Valley Music Festival, and The Hemingway Writer-In-Residence program. State-of-the-art venues such as The Argyros Performing Arts Center and The Community Library also attract local, regional, and nationally known artists and writers.

The Opportunity

SVMoA seeks a bold, innovative Executive Director to lead with vision, energy, and ambition.

Building on its 50-year legacy, SVMoA seeks a dynamic leader to propel it into its second half century. Already a vibrant and economically diverse community, the lifestyle and cultural attractiveness of the Wood River Valley has been highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the residential population in the Sun Valley area has increased significantly. Today, the new Executive Director has even greater opportunities to take SVMoA to the next transformative and strategic phase of its development and service to the expanding community.

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director provides the vision and strategic direction and is responsible for SVMoA's overall management, including its exhibitions; its education and community engagement programs; its physical, financial, and human resources; and its future growth development. The Executive Director will also inherit a strong and long-serving curatorial, programmatic, and administrative team.

With the support of and in partnership with the Board of Directors, the Executive Director ensures the continued financial strength of the Museum through active fundraising and appropriate earned revenue pursuits while remaining true to SVMoA's core values of excellence, imagination, discovery, community, and stewardship.

S/he will oversee a staff of 18 full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees and an operating budget of $2.5 million. The Museum operates with an annual surplus, has a suitable endowment, and is looking forward to a capital campaign to build a new, expanded home.

Key Relationships

Reports to                  Board of Directors

Direct Reports           Artistic Director

                                    Development & Wine Auction Director

                                    Financial Officer

                                    Marketing Manager

Other Relationships  Board of Directors

                                    Staff

                                    Donors and Institutional Funders

                                    Wood River Valley Community Partners

                                    Blaine County School System

                                    Local and State Officials - Appointed and Elected

Organizational Duties and Responsibilities

• Providing vision and leadership to further strengthen and develop close relationships with the current Board of Directors, donors, artists, and community partners;
• Finalizing and implementing a new strategic plan and realigning SVMoA's goals on an annual basis;
• Communicating in a compelling and thoughtful manner as an influential leader in the community;
• Leading and participating in multifaceted fundraising and development initiatives that build community and trust by actively engaging with individual donors and funders. This will be an important area of focus as these funds will support the Museum's ambitions, including a capital campaign for a new facility;
• Continuing to solidify SVMoA's identity—locally, regionally, and nationally—with a clear and proactive brand strategy that will strengthen and expand the critically important relationships within the community as well as the greater public;
• Fostering a transparent and collaborative culture, based on open communications with staff and board;
• Supervising, supporting, retaining, and recruiting a highly qualified professional staff;
• Delegating responsibilities and authority appropriately and holding individuals accountable for individual and collective performance;
• Building upon an established foundation of DEAI and cultural fluency while championing an inclusive environment;
• Assisting in the cultivation of new potential board members who will be deeply committed to and engaged in SVMoA's success;
• Ensuring curatorial and programmatic vision and leadership for SVMoA's artistic direction and development;
• Enhancing education and outreach programs to create enriching experiences for students and adults to build meaningful connections with art; 
• Maximizing art scholarship, creative research, and content generation through storytelling across a variety of platforms, providing accessibility to all; and
• Championing museum best practices, most critically with respect to facilities and exhibition planning.

Key Selection Criteria

Ideal Experience

• A minimum of 7-10 years in a leadership role in art museums or art-adjacent organizations with demonstrated success as a leader and manager
• Demonstrated success in visionary and innovative leadership that boldly embraces opportunities presented by evolving social, demographic, and global changes
• Proven success in individual and institutional fundraising experience (either as an executive or board member)
• Track record of managing and working effectively with a board
• Demonstrated experience in forging close and productive working relationships with a diverse range of personality types, styles, perspectives, and backgrounds
• Demonstrated leadership advocating for the transformative role the arts play in a community and in society at large
• Advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in significant ways
• Demonstrated strategic, financial, and managerial acumen

Personal Attributes

• Integrity and character
• High social and emotional intelligence; diplomatic and culturally competent
• Innovative and creative problem solver
• Aspirational, bold, and willing to take informed risks in pursuit of SVMoA's mission
• Active listener with excellent communication and public speaking skills
• Ability to build and deepen relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to earn and build trust; engaging, authentic, approachable style 

THE SEARCH PROCESS

The Sun Valley Museum of Art is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages individuals of all backgrounds and cultures to consider this leadership position. SVMoA's commitment to inclusivity encompasses but is not limited to diversity in race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, and disability.

SVMoA has retained Sally M. Sterling Executive Search to support the search for Executive Director. We welcome comments, nominations, or expressions of interest. All applicants are asked to include a letter of interest with their resume.

Please send an email with supporting materials to the confidential email address: svmoa@sallysterlingexecutivesearch.com