Director

Christina Olsen appointed Class of 1956 Director of WCMA

Williams College announced the appointment of Christina Olsen as the Class of 1956 Director of the Williams College Museum of Art. Olsen is currently the director of education and public programs at the Portland Art Museum and previously worked at the Getty Foundation and Getty Museum.

Olsen, who will begin her appointment on May 1, comes to WCMA with extensive experience in public programming, community outreach, and the incorporation of new technologies into the museum experience.  Trained as a Renaissance scholar, Olsen has established a record of creating highly innovative curatorial and educational projects by working to deepen existing audience participation and broaden the scope of her audiences.

“I’m excited to work with the Williams College Museum of Art’s impressive staff to build on the museum’s prestigious legacy and outstanding collection, and to expand its role as a vital center and resource for the college’s faculty, staff, and students, and for the community,” said Olsen.

Williams President Adam Falk, in expressing his enthusiasm about the appointment, cited Olsen’s 11 years at the Getty Foundation and Museum and said, “The Getty … is a place where the future of museums is being worked out, and Tina participated deeply in that process. The college will benefit from her energy, openness, and passion both for art objects and for how people interact with them.”

Deborah Marrow, Director of the Getty Foundation, added “Tina Olsen was a star at the Getty.  She led an initiative that brought together a group of museums to create models for online collection catalogues.  She is a leader in thinking about how museums can best reach their audiences, both professional and public, in the 21st century.”

WCMA is a teaching museum founded in 1929. Its principal mission is to encourage multidisciplinary teaching through encounters with art objects that traverse time periods and cultures.

“College art museums,” said Olsen, “have such a unique opportunity to explore new artistic, learning, and teaching practices, and to foster dialogue and exchange between disciplines, communities, and points of view.”

Of her work at the Portland Art Museum, executive director Brian Ferriso said, “Tina’s creative initiatives and significant accomplishments have brought new perspectives on and conversations about our celebrated exhibitions and collections, and have helped the museum grow and diversify its audiences.”

Olsen’s key accomplishments at the Portland Art Museum include curating Object Stories, an installation, public participation, and outreach initiative that significantly reframed the public’s experience and understanding of the museum; and Shine a Light, a museum-wide program developed in collaboration with Portland State University’s Social Practice MFA Program that includes an annual event and year-round artist residency at the museum.

Katy Kline, who has been serving as WCMA’s interim director since Lisa Corrin stepped down at the end of June 2011, will continue her stewardship of the museum until Olsen’s arrival in May.

Katy Kline Interim Director

During the search for its next director, the museum has been very fortunate to have Katy Kline in the interim role.  Kline has all of the attributes Williams needs in an interim director: proven leadership at a liberal arts college art museum, extensive ties with the Williams community, and a wealth of curatorial experience.

No stranger to the college museum scene, Kline has built up an impressive resume after a 10-year stint as Director of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art from 1998 to 2008.  Previously, she served as curator and then director of the List Visual Arts Center at MIT, overseeing the contemporary art exhibition program and building the public art program. Recently, she has been acting as the associate director for Smith College’s Summer Institute of Art Museum Studies.

Kline also has many ties to both Williams College and Williamstown.  Some of her childhood was spent in Williamstown as her father, Kermit Gordon, was faculty in the Economics Department before accepting a job with the Kennedy Administration.  She credits her many childhood visits to WCMA and the Clark as having helped develop her great interest in art.  Her son, Ethan, attended Williams and is a member of the Class of 1993.   She has also served two terms on WCMA’s visiting committee.

Kline has participated in institutional reviews for numerous college museums, and has served on NEA, NEH, and other funding panels, as well as fellowship, exhibition, award and other art panels around the country. She also co-organized the critically acclaimed installation by Ann Hamilton for the United States Pavilion at the 1998-99 Venice Biennale.  The museum is thankful to her for guiding the institution through its current transition.

Above:  Photo of Katy Kline by James Marshall.