MUSEUM SPOTLIGHT
W E L C O M I N G O U R N E W S Y B I L HARRINGTON DIRECTOR + CEO
JEREMYMIKOLAJCZAK
E
I FEEL GENUINELY PRIVIL EGED FOR T HE OPPORTUNIT Y TO WORK WITH A DEDICATED BOARD, MUSEUM PATRONS, AND DIVERSE C O M M U N I T Y, A S W E L L A S A N O U T S TA N D I N G STAFF THAT MIRRORS MY ENTHUSIASM AND DRIVE TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF A DYNAMIC AND INCLUSIVE PHOENIX ART MUSEUM.
arlier this year, Phoenix Art Museum selected Jeremy Mikolajczak (Mikoh-lay-zack) to serve as the Museum’s new Sybil Harrington Director and CEO. He brings to the institution significant experience as a museum director and curator, with a special focus on community engagement and education, having previously served as executive director, chief curator, curatorial fellow, and faculty with museums and learning institutions across the country. Mikolajczak comes to the Valley of the Sun from our sister city to the south, where he has served as the Jon and Linda Ender Director and CEO of Tucson Museum of Art. Mikolajczak led the organization through a period of exceptional growth including overseeing a capital campaign that powered strategic expansions to the TMA campus and enabled the museum to better engage its multicultural community, including the establishment and renovation of the Alice Chaiten Baker Center for Art Education and the Kasser Family Wing of Latin American Art. Along with his experience leading a museum in Arizona, Mikolajczak also led a museum in a major metropolitan region, having served as the executive director and chief curator of the Miami-Dade College Museum and Galleries of Art + Design, where he oversaw a network of six campus galleries and an international sculpture garden, founded the Museum of Art + Design, established the Cuban Exile Experience located in downtown Miami’s Freedom Tower, and helped to grow
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the institution’s annual impact to more than 100,000 visitors. Mikolajczak has also served as a scholar and educator at the University of Florida (Gainesville) and the University of Central Missouri. Mikolajczak studied studio art and art history, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from West Virginia University, and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he specialized in painting and printmaking. As he prepares to relocate to the Valley of the Sun, he will be joined by his wife, Ana Tello, and their two children. Mikolajczak grew up in Michigan, in one of the tri-cities north of Detroit, where he first discovered his love of art and museums at the Detroit Institute of Art. He has now called Arizona home for more than six years, and is excited to lay down roots in the capital city. “I am thrilled to be joining this exceptional museum and leading the next phase of
SPRING/SUMMER 2022 / PHXART MAGAZINE
Phoenix Art Museum and its prominent role as the foremost institution of our region,” said Mikolajczak. “Having spent the last six years in Arizona, I have greatly admired the work of the world-class museum, its incredible history, extensive collection, and exemplary scholarship. I feel genuinely privileged for the opportunity to work with a dedicated board, museum patrons, and diverse community, as well as an outstanding staff that mirrors my enthusiasm and drive to shape the future of a dynamic and inclusive Phoenix Art Museum. At a time of tremendous growth and opportunity in the Valley, I look forward to building upon the outstanding achievements of my predecessors and advancing the Museum’s commitment to innovation and engagement.” He will begin his tenure with Phoenix Art Museum on April 18, 2022. image credit:
Courtesy of Tucson Museum of Art.
