Breaking down the searches for 3 new arts leaders
You might think of it as the passing of the baton.
Three of Baltimore’s largest arts groups — two museums and a symphony — are searching for new artistic leaders. Below, we break down the search process for each group and the challenges they face.
The American Visionary Art Museum: AVAM is seeking to replace its founder, Rebecca Hoffberger, a critical juncture in any arts group’s development.
“This is the most important and challenging director search we’ll ever do because we’re losing our founding visionary,” said Peter Bain, a member of AVAM’s search committee. “But if handled correctly, that’s actually very liberating.
“No one in their right mind would ever attempt to replicate Rebecca. Everyone knows sequels are never as good as the work that came first, but we’re not looking for a sequel. We’re looking for the next leader of the American Visionary Art Museum. That’s a really important distinction.”
The search process began unofficially a few months before Hoffberger announced in July that she would step down from the museum she founded in 1995. Hoffberger, a high school dropout with a fistful of honorary doctorates, doesn’t have a typical art world background.
Search committee members were unsure what types of candidates might apply to lead a museum dedicated to selftaught artists, many of whom were imprisoned, homeless or mentally ill.
“AVAM is so unique I worried we would scare people away,” Bain said. “But there was tremendous interest in the job internationally. We heard from people with backgrounds in performance art and academia and from museum curators.”
A pool of more than 100 candidates was narrowed to “eight to 10” finalists, he said. On-site interviews began last fall and will wrap up soon.
“We’re excited about where AVAM is going in the future,” Bain said. “There’s a tremendous amount of room for evolution and growth as we fulfill our mission to bring visionary art to the world.”
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: For the past year the BSO has conducted its version of a reality show on its stages at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore and at the Music Center at Strathmore. This season, 14 candidates have conducted the orchestra in what is the equivalent of auditions before an audience of thousands.
Just as with such televised hits as “American Idol” or “The Voice,” stakeholders get to cast a vote of sorts. After each candidate leaves town, the symphony’s musicians, board members, community leaders, staff members and donors fill out a survey, evaluating everything from the applicant’s program choices to audience interactions.
“Not everyone is as much a fan of the beauty pageant aspects of this as I am,” Tonya McBride Robles, the BSO’s chief operating officer said. “But it’s a really accessible way for the entire community and state to get to know these candidates.”
A music director search is a lengthy undertaking; Robles expects the BSO’s directors will appoint a new music director by the summer of 2024.
About those applicants: The BSO is evaluating 21 guest batons over two seasons, including five women and five conductors of color. Going by the numbers alone, there’s a nearly 50-50 chance the next music director will be from among these underrepresented populations.
For those keeping score, eight of next year’s guest conductors are making encore performances and could reasonably be considered semifinalists. They include Jonathon Heyward, an African-American conductor born in South Carolina; Robert Trevino, who has Mexican-American ancestry; Kevin John Edusei, who has mixed German and Ghanaian ancestry; and Kwame Ryan, who grew up in Trinidad.
The remaining four conductor candidates making return visits are Europeans: Rune Bergmann (Norway), Peter Oundjian (Canada), and Christian Reif and Matthias Pintscher (Germany.) But it would be a mistake to conclude that the people on this list have a lock on the job.
Next season, the BSO will evaluate seven candidates who couldn’t visit Baltimore until next year because of prior commitments, including female conductors Eva Ollikainen of Finland, Anna Rakitina of Russia and Oksana Lyniv of Ukraine.
The Baltimore Museum of Art: It’s been just a month since museum director Christopher Bedford announced Feb. 9 that he had accepted a new job in California.
The museum’s board of trustees must decide if it wants to continue implementing Bedford’s at-times-radical changes — and if so, how to hack a path through the wilderness in the absence of the troupe leader.
“It’s a fact of life,” said Clair Zamoiski Segal, co-chair of the BMA’s search committee. “People move on whether you want them to or not.”
The BMA formed a 10-member search committee Feb. 24 and will hire a headhunting firm. Segal estimated that interviews with finalists could begin in the late fall or winter. She said the board has pledged to seek feedback from local artists and community groups.
“We’re committed to ensuring the BMA pairs artistic excellence with the values of equity, access and inclusion,” Segal said. “I’m confident that together we will identify and attract a leader who will build upon the museum’s stellar reputation.”