Director’s Corner
July has already proven to be an exciting month here at MoCC. I am thrilled to greet you today as the newly appointed Director and Chief Curator. This institution has been a part of my life since I moved to Portland in 1997, and it is both an honor and a privilege to take on this role.
I want to introduce you to two members of the Board of Directors – Dr. Joe Bloom and Randy Higgins. They joined the board this month, and are already hard at work on projects with the Museum. If you see them in town, be sure to talk with them about MoCC.
We also bid farewell to Kathy Abraham and Linda Aleskus, who have each completed two terms on the Board. The Museum and College are deeply indebted to these committed board members for their time and guidance through the past six years.
On the staff side, Kat Perez, who has been my partner in the curatorial department for nearly 7 years, is leaving the Museum to take up residence in Denver, Colorado. Portland’s loss is definitely Denver’s gain. She will be missed.
Nicole Nathan returns to the Museum this month as the Curator of Collections and Registrar. Nicole worked for the Museum, directing the transfer of artwork from 3934 SW Corbett Ave to our present location, designing our collection storage, and handling all registrarial work until 2008. Having her back at the Museum helps us continue to work on building, researching, and sharing the collection in a number of ways. You can learn more about her on the Museum website.
Special thanks, too, to Sarah Newhall, who has served as our interim director for the past three months. She’s been a pleasure to work with, and though her work in this role is done, we have no intention of letting her get too far away from MoCC!
We also welcome Ryan King, our Windgate Intern who will be working with us for the next six weeks on several exhibitions and projects. Thanks to the Windgate Foundation, Ryan joins us from the Corcoran, where he is completing graduate studies in exhibition design.
Following on the outstanding press for Generations: Betty Feves, we anticipate great conversations to emerge from the upcoming Design with the Other 90%: CITIES exhibition, co-hosted with Mercy Corps. Do take advantage of these last few weeks to come enjoy the Betty Feves exhibition – and please mark August 16 for the Member’s Opening for Design and Reflections on Erik Gronborg: Selections by Jeffry Mitchell.
I’ve just returned from three weeks in Europe, where I spent time meeting numerous contemporary art jewelers, art historians, designers, and artists. I look forward to devising ways to bring those connections to Portland, and to sharing what Portland offers with my new colleagues.
Please come say hello if you attend the music events on July 13 and 27!
Namita Gupta Wiggers