Their help wanted ad would read something like this: "Seeking Charismatic Director to Take Leading Art Museum into the Next Millennium. Good Leadership Skills are a Must. Call Cincinnati Art Museum and Apply Today."
Salesmanship has a newfound priority at the Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM). Never before has the venerable Mount Adams art institution placed its future so heavily in spin doctoring. Exiting director Barbara Gibbs leaves June 4. So a new director is needed ASAP. Well, actually, says Anita Ellis, CAM director of curatorial affairs, curator of decorative arts and interim director, there is no rush to fill Gibbs' vacancy. The current plan is to take as much time as necessary for search firm Spencer Stuart to find the right director who's suitable for the CAM's needs. If that means running the museum with an interim director for some time -- so be it.
"We told them (Spencer Stuart) to take the amount of time it takes to get the right person and do whatever it takes to get the person we want," says Ellis.
Building the right profile for Mr. (or Ms.) Director has been a delicate task. There have been meetings with CAM staff and board members. Although there are no plans for the type of public forums recently held by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, CAM focus groups continue to gather information about what people want: more education, outreach and exhibitions with popular name artists. It's a helpful blueprint for CAM's incoming director.
Watching CAM's recent happenings -- including Gibbs' abrupt departure -- one wonders: What sales pitch will attract someone to manage CAM? Ellis lists CAM's attributes with an upbeat tempo. "We are on sound economic footing. We have a great collection, great staff and great board. Put it together and we should be able to get the best." Hers is inspirational rhetoric. Pair it with the picture-postcard imagery of Cincinnati's lush seven hills, and you've got yourself an appealing package.
Talk about potential applicants has been purposely vague. Good administrative skills and leadership ability are essential. Charisma and scholarship also rank high. But CAM officials aren't about to narrow their possibilities. They're even willing to look beyond the field of museum management. Ellis realizes it's impossible to find one person with all the qualities. The key, she says, is to find the right attributes that the museum needs most.
"We want to take what has been done in the past and move the museum forward," she says. "We want them to take what we have here, mold it and run with it."
The definition of the modern art museum is changing. The ivory tower mentality is a thing of the past. What's important is that the CAM finds what art publications refer to as a "vanguard" leader: someone to take the CAM into a new era of excellence. The question, however, is whether such a person is willing to come to Cincinnati. It doesn't matter how talented the new director is if the CAM directorship is a layover before bigger things.
So the CAM finds itself in the most difficult of corners. It's not enough to find a good director candidate. They also need to persuade that "right" candidate that the CAM is a good museum to join. Cheerleading becomes important. The luring carrot might be the opportunity to refashion the CAM.
"It's a perfect time to come in as a director," Ellis says. "All the seeds for a master plan are here. They're not coming into a situation with a set master plan. We're creating a master plan with the new director."
So go ahead and ask to see the CAM's books. Search the Internet. Read the museum's Web page. CAM officials insist they have nothing to hide from prospective directors.
"We're a horse that's galloping," Ellis says. "I think that the impression in the museum world is that we've come out of some really bad times and we're on some pretty good footing."
They've convinced themselves. The real challenge lies elsewhere.
