At the founding of the Association of Art Museum Curators in 2001, Philippe de Montebello, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, charged curators to consider as a high priority the crisis of the diminishing pool of future museum directors:
"If we are to win the battle of the 'curator/director' over the 'administrator/director,' a profile with which increasingly Boards of trustees are instinctively more comfortable, then it is essential to enlarge the pool of curators with the qualifications to be tomorrow's museum directors. It is essential, in order to reassure trustees that hiring curators as directors will not compromise the business-like running of a museum's affairs, in other words, their bottom line. Whether this is achieved through more exposure of curators to the functioning of the administration from within, or more schooling in business administration...it is absolutely critical that more should be done in broadening the professional development of curators."
The Center for Curatorial Leadership acknowledges the increasing need for curators to learn new skills that are essential in the new museum climate. These skills combine traditional curatorial connoisseurship and art historical scholarship with administrative, managerial, and fundraising expertise. Simply stated, the aim of the program is to create a new kind of curator, one who is able to take responsibility for the art in his or her care, and who is also capable of handling the internal and external managerial responsibilities of directing an institution. The Center is located in New York City, and draws upon the rich resources of museums and academic institutions in New York and elsewhere. An advisory board, including distinguished directors, trustees, curators, collectors and other cultural leaders from across the country, plays an important role in the ongoing development of the Center.
Cost:
The CCL absorbs the cost of tuition, travel, and accommodation for the fellows.Fellows:
The Center attracts curators currently working in American art museums at all levels of the profession. We envision a group of approximately ten carefully selected fellows each year. Junior curators learn basic management skills and benefit from mentoring by instructors and senior colleagues. Senior curators receive more specialized instruction in addressing the issues facing top-level administrators in the most important museums in America. Mentoring is a key element of the program. Directors and trustees from museums around the country serve in an advisory role and participate in curriculum development.Curriculum:
The curriculum consists of a combination of "teaching" and "doing." Professors teach concentrated academic courses in non-profit management, budgeting, marketing, fundraising, board development, and strategic long-range and short-term initiatives. Museum directors and administrators provide hands-on instruction, and assign and supervise projects.In addition to this intensive program, throughout the year the Center plans to hold executive leadership seminars during which directors, trustees and curators will come together to share information about the most important issues currently facing the museum world.
Beginning each year in January, the program consists of the following:
The program combines readings, direct teaching, individual practice and team projects. The following areas are important topics addressed by the program:
