Wyona Lynch-McWhite has been named Executive Director of Brockton's Fuller
Craft Museum effective next Monday, taking over from founding director Gretchen Keyworth. Lynch-McWhite became deputy director of Fuller Craft last year, having previously served as Director and Chief Curator of the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum, the art museum of
Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. Keyworth oversaw the transition from the small and relatively obscure Fuller Art Museum to Fuller Craft over the last five years; she will now serve as Director Emeritus and Chief
Curator, following a summer sabbatical.
On June 6, the museum will open "The Perfect Fit—Shoes Tell Stories," a new exhibition that "explores the cultural meanings of shoes, presenting imaginative and provocative objects of every size and craft medium." The exhibition was curated by Wendy Tarlow Kaplan, whose family has strong ties to Brockton’s shoe manufacturing industry, once the largest in the nation. After the exhibition closes next January, it will travel to other U.S. cities, dates and locations to be announced.
The text of the transition announcement follows:
FULLER CRAFT MUSEUM NAMES WYONA LYNCH-McWHITE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
(Brockton, Mass. – May 28, 2009) Wyona Lynch-McWhite has been named Executive Director of Fuller Craft Museum according to Board President Michael C. King. Lynch-McWhite, who assumes the new position on June 1, is currently Fuller Craft’s Deputy Director, a position she has held for more than a year. She replaces Gretchen Keyworth, who will remain with the museum in the capacity of Director Emeritus and Chief Curator following a summer sabbatical.
“Wyona is the perfect choice at this stage of Fuller Craft’s development. She brings with her new energy and extensive museum experience. We have learned much from her in the year she’s been our Deputy Director, and feel fortunate to have her in the leadership role,” said King.
Lynch-McWhite moved to Massachusetts in 2008 to join Fuller Craft. Prior to that, she was Director and Chief Curator of the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum, the art museum of Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. A graduate of Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, she earned her M.F.A. from Columbia College in Chicago. She began her museum career at The Museum of Contemporary Photography and then joined the staff of the Art Institute of Chicago. She currently serves as a board member on the American Association of Museums Museum Management Committee. Previously, she served on the College Art Association Museum Committee and was a Director at Large on the South Eastern Museums Conference governing council. In addition to her work with national, regional, and local museum organizations, she has served as Chair of the Roanoke City Arts Commission, and as national grant reviewer for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. She was a 2006 participant in the Getty Center’s Museum Leadership Institute and was completing an MBA prior to relocating to New England. She resides in Brockton with husband Christopher McWhite and their two children.
“I am eager to lead the next chapter in the storied life of Fuller Craft.” said Lynch-McWhite. This is a special place that echoes its surroundings and community. Despite the economic climate, recent exhibitions have broken attendance records, and membership is growing. With an unwavering commitment to craft, we will continue to bring vibrancy, accessibility and dialogue to the art, to the field, to our neighbors, and beyond. We’re defining, redefining and celebrating craft.”
Keyworth, who has been Fuller Craft’s founding director, led the institution through a revolutionary mission change and transformation. In 2004, The Fuller Museum of Art, a small, community art museum, became Fuller Craft Museum, one of the few contemporary craft museums of national renown. As Director Emeritus she will advance the Museum’s curatorial vision and strengthen relationships with other organizations and the national craft community.
Fuller Craft Museum, Inc., New England’s only museum of contemporary craft, is dedicated to the objects, ideas, and insight that inspire both patrons and artists to explore life through the art of contemporary craft. Fuller Craft Museum is located at 455 Oak Street in Brockton, Mass.
For more
information on Fuller Craft exhibitions and events please call 508.588.6000 or
visit www.fullercraft.org.
Comments