Western Museums Association is hiring: Director and CEO (Honolulu) in Honolulu

Job Description

Director & CEO

Honolulu Museum of Art Honolulu, Hawaii

THE SEARCH

The Honolulu Museum of Art seeks a visionary, community-driven arts leader with the insight and integrity to shape its future as its next Director & CEO. Building on the momentum of its upcoming Centennial, HoMA seeks a leader to steward its legacy and set a dynamic course for its next century of impact. The Director will collaborate closely with staff and trustees to connect the Islands' singular fine arts institution with the public and the world yet always rooted in Hawaii's distinct sense of place and animated by the values that make HoMA a beloved home of art and education for all.

The Honolulu Museum of Art, initially known as the Honolulu Academy of Arts, opened to the public in 1927 with a progressive, forward-looking vision: to give the gift of art and art education to Hawaii's diverse, multicultural community. Nearly one hundred years later, HoMA is the largest art museum in Hawaii and a vibrant center of culture for a diverse region. HoMA offers an array of special exhibitions, events, and programs to augment its exceptional collections of over 55,000 objects spanning 5,000 years of human creativity. On an island of approximately one million residents, HoMA draws an audience of nearly 100,000 annual visitors to its 40,000 square feet of exhibition space.

As the primary visual arts institution in the state, HoMA has an extraordinary opportunity to increasingly expand its exhibition, education, and community programming in ways that engage locals and visitors alike and serve as a hub for the Asia-Pacific region. Overseeing 160 staff, a total budget of nearly $18M, and an endowment of approximately $90M, the Director is responsible for HoMA's fundraising, programmatic excellence, fiscal health, community engagement, daytoday operations, employees and volunteers, public profile, longrange planning, collection care and development.

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

THE HONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART

HoMA's history began with the activities of art collector Anna Rice Cooke, her daughter Alice Spalding, daughterinlaw Dagmar Cooke, and Catharine Cox, an art and drama teacher, who obtained a charter for the museum from the Territory of Hawaii in 1922. Mrs. Cooke donated the land for the museum, along with its initial endowment, and the Honolulu Academy of Arts opened its doors in 1927.

Over time, the museum's permanent collection has grown from approximately 875 works to more than 55,000 pieces spanning 5,000 years. The museum has also physically grown from its original building, with additions including an expansion to the library (1956); education wings (1931, 1961); a gift shop (1965); a cafe (1969); a contemporary gallery, administrative offices and 292seat theater (1977); a wing housing the shop and caf, as well as dedicated gallery space for historic and contemporary art of Hawaii (2001).

In 2011, The Contemporary Museum, founded by Thurston TwiggSmith and his family in 1988 in the historic Spalding House, gifted its assets and collection to the thenHonolulu Academy of Arts, significantly strengthening its collection. The following year the combined museum changed its name to the Honolulu Museum of Art. Spalding House was sold in 2023 as a key step in strengthening the museum's ability to achieve its longterm mission.

Today, HoMA continues to reflect Mrs. Cooke's vision by being an inclusive space dedicated to serving the community through art and education. As the museum approaches its Centennial, HoMA's 20212026 Strategic Plan charts a vision for ensuring the museum is a relevant and sustainable 21stcentury institution deeply rooted in accessibility and community. The plan calls for creating dynamic, worldclass art and education experiences; serving, nurturing, and showcasing the community of which the museum is a part; and embracing bestpractice stewardship with a fiveyear campus and financial plan to realize longterm sustainability.

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COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS

Situated in two iconic buildings in the heart of Honolulu, HoMA's encyclopedic collection includes significant holdings in Asian art, American and European painting and decorative arts, 19th and 20thcentury art, arts of Hawaii and the Pacific, an extensive collection of works on paper, Asian textiles, and traditional works from Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. HoMA presents original and traveling exhibitions featuring local, emerging, and worldrenowned artists. Recent highlights include Mary Cassatt at Work, Hawaii Triennial 2025: Aloha N, Home of the Tigers: McKinley High and Modern Art, Fashioning Aloha, and more.

The Robert Allerton Art Library at HoMA is a community resource containing more than 40,000 holdings. The library collects books and periodicals that focus on the artists, art, and art movements represented in HoMA's collection. Integral to HoMA's mission and vision, the library seeks to edify the quest for knowledge, understanding, and beauty that inspires museumgoers.

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LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT

From its beginnings as the Honolulu Academy of Arts, HoMA has brought people and art together through a broad array of formal and informal learning opportunities for all experience levels and ages. Today, the HoMA Art School at Linekona resides in the historic former McKinley High School and Linekona Elementary School building. The School offers a full curriculum of studio art classes for students of all ages, including drawing, painting, fiber arts, printmaking, metalwork, and more, taught by practicing artists and educators. The School also maintains a lending collection for students, educators, and community members.

HoMA's Department of Education and Public Programs provides 1,504 unique art education programs and activities to over 43,000 people annually. In addition to studio art classes, these include exhibition programs, school and teacher programs, activities and events for families, film screenings, and community engagement. Many of these programs involve collaborations with community organizations, schools and teachers, and selected artists. The museum's 292seat Doris Duke Theater is the largest arthouse theater in the state of Hawaii and screens the best in narrative, documentary, animated, and short films.

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ROLE OF THE DIRECTOR & CEO

Reporting to the Board of Trustees, the Director & CEO will continue to advance HoMA's impact and legacy in Hawaii and increase its regional, national, and global profile. The Director will serve as the public face of the museum, nurturing and expanding relationships with civic institutions, community partners, donors, artists, stakeholders, and the field. A Centennial capital campaign is underway, and the Director will ensure its successful completion. The Director will lead a talented and dedicated staff, including a senior leadership team of nine direct reports.

LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR THE DIRECTOR & CEO

As HoMA nears its Centennial, it seeks to deepen its role as a cultural cornerstone for Hawaii and a bridge to the broader AsiaPacific region. The next Director & CEO will join an established institution with a committed and professional leadership team, and a community eager for vision and care. In this uniquely multicultural and historically layered context, the Director will demonstrate humility, curiosity, and a deep commitment to place, forging authentic relationships and honoring the museum's legacy and aspirations. They will have the opportunity to shape HoMA's next century through inclusive and thoughtful leadership, and an inspiring yet grounded vision for the future.

The Director is expected to address the following key opportunities and challenges:

• Collaboratively develop a bold, strategic vision for HoMA's next century.
• Partner with the Board, staff, and diverse constituents to develop and execute plans for HoMA's Centennial celebrations.
• Effectively develop, align, and execute an artistic vision, strategic plan, and capital campaign.
• Foster trust and build authentic relationships with Hawaii's diverse communities. Demonstrating humility, curiosity, and a commitment to place, engage the local community fully as reciprocal partners in a museum that honors Hawaii's culture and champions its potential.
• Leverage Hawaii's position as a hub within the AsiaPacific region.
• Oversee an exhibition strategy that optimizes the museum's collections; develop compelling local, digital, and traveling programs that unlock opportunities to increase impact; attract and engage new audiences.
• Lead development of a robust, forwardthinking digital strategy.
• Develop strategies to cultivate and sustain a healthy arts ecosystem with and for the local community.
• Convey professionalism, excellence, inclusivity, and enthusiasm as HoMA's ambassador and civic leader in the active public life of Hawaii. Lead with a passion for art, education, HoMA and the Islands that inspires others towards shared ambitions.
• Strengthen the museum's financial position and ensure operational excellence.
• Serve as chief fundraiser, adept at stewarding existing support while attracting and retaining new generations of philanthropic investment.
• Identify sustainable sources of earned revenue to enhance institutional resources.