MUSEUM notes
Storage Renovation” and “The Big Reveal: Behind-the-Scenes Tours as Educational and Outreach Opportunities.” And Hillary Brown, the museum’s director of communications, co-chaired the session “Digital Relationship Building for Art Nonprofits,” which focused on lessons for increasing social media engagement. DESIGN AWARDS Also in October, the museum received three awards in the South- eastern Museums Conference (SEMC) publication design competition, presented at SEMC’s annual meeting: a gold for brochure design for its “Visit the Georgia Museum of Art” trifold (which features Yared Awoke, a student worker in the museum’s business office last year, on the cover); a gold for gallery guides for the booklet that accom - panied the exhibition “Where Shadows Cross: Photography by Jim Fiscus”; and an honorable mention for gallery guides for the 12-page brochure that accompanied the exhibition “Power Couple: Pierre and Louise Daura in Paris.” Noelle Shuck, the museum’s graphic design- er, was responsible for all three pieces. UPCOMING SCULPTURE GARDEN CHANGES The Jane and Harry Willson Sculpture Garden will be undergoing some changes. The plan is to return it to more of an exhibition space, with dedicated areas for events and for sculpture. As part of that process, we are working with our colleagues at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia to develop a plan for permanent and rotating plantings, as well as ongoing maintenance of the living features of the space. The three sculptures that are currently installed there will be migrating to other places near the museum to make space for other works. STAFF CHANGES Amber Barnhardt, senior registrar, left the museum at the end of October, and Jessica Luton, assistant editor, left at the end of December. Marlene Koncewicz was hired as one of our three security supervisors in September, taking over for Nathan Richards. Koncewicz was previously a gallery guide at the museum.
SMITTY AWARD WINNER In August, at our annual Friends Appreciation Month kick-off event, we announced this year’s recipient of the M. Smith Griffith Volunteer of the Year Award, or the “Smitty.” This year’s award recipient was Sarah Peterson, currently past chair of the Friends Advisory Board. Peterson gracefully balances support and volunteerism at many non- profits and organizations throughout our community, but her cheerleading for the museum is especially notable. She has served in almost every capacity available as a museum volunteer. She was an Elegant Salute event co-chair and chair, helping to plan our biggest fundraiser, as well as chair-elect, chair and immediate past chair of the Friends Advisory Board. Even as an immediate past chair, a position that has historically been more of an advisory role, she has continued to be actively engaged as a volunteer. Peterson’s ability and willingness to step in whenever and wherever needed made her a stand-out choice as the recipient of this year’s Smitty. NEW KRESS RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP The museum has established a new fellowship position to help with an upcoming exhibition that will highlight works from Samuel H. Kress collections and repositories. “Sharing the Spotlight: Selected Works from Kress Collections,” an exhibition resulting from Pierre Daura Curator of European Art Nelda Damiano’s multi-year study, will feature 30 to 35 works from Kress collections in museums nationwide. The exhibition is scheduled to open in 2026, and the museum received a grant from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation to fund a research fellowship related to the show. Former graduate curatorial intern Katherine Rabogli- atti, a doctoral student at the University of Maryland who studies early modern Italian art and previously worked on the reinstallation of the museum’s Kress Gallery, will step into the role this January. Rabogliatti will assist Damiano with scholarly research, provide organizational support and collaborate with staff across departments. MUSEUM STAFF SHARE THEIR KNOWLEDGE This year’s Southeastern Museums Conference annual meeting was held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in October and featured contributions from several museum staff members. Michele Turner, the museum’s director of donor relations, presented the session “Membership vs Donorship? What’s Right for Your Institution?” which talked about the transition from a dues-based membership model to an annual-fund-based model that emphasizes philanthropy. Turner presided over our transition to the latter. Tricia Miller, the museum’s deputy director of collections and exhibitions and head registrar, served on the panels “Behind Closed Doors: Stories for Survival During a Collections
Marlene Koncewicz
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