Thursday 2 August 2007

Succession planning II

A continuation of yesterday's thoughts about succession planning in New Zealand art galleries:

As reported in the New York Times, Lisa Dennison is leaving the top job at the Guggenheim, after 2 years (although after nearly 30 with the Gugg all up) to join Sotheby's as a international business developer.

This causes Marc Spiegler on Art World Salon to speculate whether these roles are now getting harder to fill, due to scope creep:

So it seems today’s ideal museum-director candidate would have a PhD in Art History, an MBA, plus several years of Foreign Service and corporate experience under the belt. ... perhaps it’s time to widen the notion of how museums are led: Splitting the job into business and art functions, rather desperately seeking candidates combining all the skills required in the modern museum era and paralyzing the institution until the ideal candidate surfaces.

Spiegler points to another recent article in the New York Times, 'Impossible Job. Here’s What You Need for It' about the Getty's Museum Leadership Institute, a yearly three-week crash course for museum directors looking for professional development, and people a level below directors wanting a leg-up. The course has been running since 1979.

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