Meet your colleagues in museums around New England! It’s often too easy for colleagues to feel isolated in their own institutions—we hope this feature will help close the gap. We also hope that it reinforces your own joy in your work and encourages you to recognize your own positive impacts.
In this edition of the NEMA Member Profile, we feature NEMA member Noelle Foye, executive director of the New Bedford Art Museum/ArtWorks! in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Prior to her role in New Bedford, she has served as a community arts developer and consultant, as well as education director for the Fuller Craft Museum. In 2013 she won the Community Arts Educator of the Year award from the Massachusetts Art Education Association, and she has taken an active role with MassCreative in arts advocacy. She entered the museum field after a previous career in nursing, but made the shift to look for new challenges and new ways to engage with her passion for art.
How did you start out in the museum field, and how did you get to where you are now?
As an older student returning to finish an undergrad degree in art, I became intrigued with the behind the scenes world of art museums. Who decides what you’ll see and who shapes how it will be presented and guides what you will think about it? I realized I wanted to be that person so I continued on and got a degree in arts administration and started my career in museum work.
The New Bedford Art Museum recently merged with Art Works. What was the impetus behind that move, and what were some of the most surprising or rewarding aspects of the process?
Our merger has been an energizing and amazing undertaking. We are fortunate our merging grew from a shared vision and mission. We believed we would be better able to serve our constituents together than apart. In terms of practical aspects, ArtWorks! needed to physically relocate and the museum had space. The museum wanted to expand and grow their education programs and ArtWorks! had strong education programs that were expanding. The museum’s director was leaving and I would be able to take on the position if we merged. It was like a puzzle with each organization bringing the pieces to fit together and complete the picture.
You’re launching an exciting new project this year on “Work, Women, and Art.” What can you tell us about the inspiration behind this theme, and what events and programs you have planned so far?
Our main exhibition this fall will be a show by a women’s artist collective known as Corpus VI. As our core staff, which is all female, began to plan for this show we realized this was an opportunity to bring a special focus to women who work in the arts and to share the wisdom of the many artists and women in arts, related careers that we know with the next generation. We are planning a day-long symposium on careers in the arts for high school juniors and seniors. We have also been engaged with the Women’s Fund, a Southcoast nonprofit that is actively working to support pay equity for women. We hope to create some networking opportunities for women in the arts.
What current trends in the museum world are you most excited by?
I am excited about creating environments in our museum that encourage all kinds of visitors to come and participate in activities here – not just to “see art.” We are working to add poetry, music, dance, science, and all sorts of disciplines that offer different ways to approach us and engage with the art in our galleries or simply to feel welcome here. We want to be a vital hub of activity in the community, not just where you go to see art.
What advice would you give to someone new to the museum field?
Take every opportunity. Try a number of positions, volunteer and paid. When I was at Boston University pursuing my Arts Administration degree, I loved every course. (Well, maybe not Financial Management, but I have to admit it has come in very handy.) It was only after trying on many different hats that I realized the common denominator of what I loved about each was really museum education. That became my passion. And the experiences I had along the way better prepared me to juggle the many aspects of working in a nonprofit.
What is on your personal museum bucket list? (A place to work or visit, a show to produce, a target to reach?)
Underneath it all, I have the heart of a textile artist. At the top of my bucket list is the Textile Center in Minneapolis for a visit.
Thanks to Noelle for speaking with us. You can find out more about NBAM’s upcoming projects and events here: www.newbedfordart.org.