Our friend Molly Priesmeyer notes that three key curators at the Walker Art Center have announced that they’re leaving, along with the Walker’s chief operating officer. Both WCCO (who reported the news yesterday) and Preismeyer are worried about what this might mean, and they point out the alarming cost overruns of the new digs on Vineland Place as a possible goad, though we can’t see exactly why that would impact the curatorial staff. It’s not as if Director Kathy Halbreicht wants to lose her best lieutenants, nor that she can shop for better ones at a savings.
Aside from COO Anne Bitter (who somewhat cryptically “resigned” to “resume a private consulting practice”–which could be a harmless statement of fact, or an ominous, thundering euphemism) it looks to us like the time was right for some serious cashing out among the team’s top talent. Everyone agrees that the Walker’s relaunch was the event of the season–and not just locally but nationally. In fact, the Walker’s international reputation and celebrity have never been higher. If you were working in the trenches of the WAC for ten years and hoping eventually to step up a rung in the industry, to the very tippy top where you’re not supposed to stand, now would be the time to do that. We note that curators Flood, Vergne, and Fogle are all taking promotions at other major museums.
When Lance Armstrong wins the Tour de France and wears the maillot jeune down the Champs Elysees, his best captains get poached shortly thereafter by rival teams for more money, more responsibility, and more prestige. Success of the finest thread-count often breeds this sort of accretion; it is a cost of doing business well, and you either build loyalty into your budget or you read a lot of resumes.
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