The Museum of Fine Arts announced today that Edward Saywell, 36, has been appointed Director of the West Wing, a new position, to oversee the vibrant contemporary art scene that is supposed to inhabit that space when the museum's giant overhaul is completed circa 2010. Saywell, whose promotion is effective today, joined the MFA in September 2006 as an assistant curator of prints and drawings, after nine years at the Harvard University Art Museums, where he was deeply involved in contemporary exhibitions.
The press release has a lot more to say about the West Wing than it does about Saywell. It's hard to argue with the idea of making the West Wing "one of the most ambitious venues for special commissions and contemporary installations in the United States... one of the most inviting public spaces in Boston, an exciting and welcoming place where audiences of all ages can engage with our growing contemporary collection and vibrant programming," as Saywell calls for. Although we can also wonder why the MFA lagged behind those ambitions for so long. Let's hope the West Wing initiative will employ some of the creative thinking that's behind the MFA concert series; the announcement does call for "a vibrant space where contemporary art, film, and music, as well as programming of all kinds, converge within the context of an encyclopedic museum, resulting in a new dialogue for the Boston art scene," in the words of MFA chief Malcolm Rogers.
Of course, if Saywell succeeds in enacting this vision, what will be in store for the brand spankin' new ICA on the waterfront, not to mention MassMoCA? "A rising tide lifts all boats?" Or more competition for hot exhibits, donor dollars and audiences' limited attention? There will be much to watch here, beginning with whether the MFA backs up its ambitions with budget and action.
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