Executive Director | Beaumont, TX

Executive Director Art Museum of Southeast Texas - Beaumont, TX (on-site)

Description

The Art Museum of Southeast Texas is searching for an entrepreneurial leader to join the staff, board, community partners and supporters to further invigorate and expand the museum in its next stage of development. The Executive Director will oversee a professional and committed staff of 15 while also overseeing the development of its extraordinary exhibitions and inclusive educational programs with a focus reflective of this diverse community. AMSET and its constituents will embrace a leader who has creative passion, drive and commitment to growth and sustainability.

Responsibilities and Expectations 

Oversee, update and implement AMSET’s strategic plan as it relates to the museum’s mission and vision by meeting regularly with stakeholders including staff, board/advisory board, city leaders and community stakeholders. 

Engage organizational board members, advisory board members and staff to recruit and retain talented individuals as staff and volunteers. Work as a conduit between board members and staff. Develop, educate, enforce and maintain proper museums procedures and policies and ethical practices set forth by the American Alliance of Museums and the values held by public trusts.

Lead and execute fundraising strategies to secure major gifts, maintain a balanced budget through strong financial oversight and transparent reporting to the Board of Trustees.

Grow the endowment fund and provide funding for new acquisitions and maintain a diversified revenue stream for a stable and secure future.

Advocate awareness of AMSET through supporters, partners and colleagues by way of marketing, public awareness, communications and engagement. 

Update procedures and policies including the bylaws, employment manual, emergency preparedness manual, facility rental policies, membership and donor benefits and other operating procedures. 

Experience, Skills & Attributes

The top candidates for Executive Director will generate fresh ideas, celebrate the rich diversity of the area through community engagement, energize and manage programming teams, and demonstrate a proven track record of fundraising and development by expanding donor support and civic partnerships. A strong working knowledge and passion for art and art history is required. An understanding of 19th -21st c fine art and folk art with an emphasis on regionalism including Mexican Folk art is beneficial. A bachelor’s degree in art history or studio art, curatorial studies, arts administration or related field required. Master’s degree preferred. 5-10 years of experience as a curator, art educator, and/or museum/non-profit director required. Top candidates will also have at least 5 years of management experience. Knowledge of American Alliance of Museums standards of practice is essential. 

Compensation & Benefits

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The starting salary range for this role is $75,000 - $105,000. AMSET offers a benefits package that includes health coverage through a major health provider with 80/20 match, a retirement plan with 3% matching, and generous paid time off. Deadline for applying is February 7, 2025, with early applicants given priority consideration. A final candidate is expected to begin in June 2025. To apply: Submit a resume, cover letter, and three professional references to info@amset.org.

About the Art Museum of Southeast Texas (1950 – 2024) Mission: Through unique collections, exhibitions, public programs and outreach in the visual arts, our mission is to provide education, inspiration, and creative vision throughout Southeast Texas. Vision: To enhance the community through art education and to be an essential resource partner for the visual arts through Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Sustainability (IDEAS) in every aspect of AMSET operations. Historical Sketch The Art Museum of Southeast Texas was incorporated in 1950 as the Beaumont Art Museum. The museum was housed in a rented historical home near the city’s business district and was volunteer run. In 1956, interest in the museum led to the first permanent 2,000 square foot space at the city fairgrounds. The museum moved again in 1969 into a 5,000 square foot renovated house. In 1972, the museum hired its first paid staff and the museum’s reputation and audiences grew. As the museum outgrew its space, overwhelming support realized a $4.2 million, 22,000 square foot, museumspecific building in 1987 in downtown Beaumont as the Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET). The name change reflected the expanded service area. Often referred to as the Jewel of Downtown Beaumont, the building is an attractive facility and is one of the keystones to cultural enrichment for the community. It is located across the street from the Neches River and is adjacent to City Hall, and a block away from the downtown symphony hall, library, historical theater and a mile away from the Port of Beaumont. It shares the parking lot with the Tyrrell Historical Library and the Texas Energy Museum. The museum first became accredited by the American Association of Museums in 1991, now the American Alliance of Museums, an accolade it still shares today with the top museums in the country. 

Up until the mid-1980’s, the museum’s collection was limited (280 objects). In 1987, a Collections Management Policy was board approved targeting fine, folk, and decorative arts of the 19th – 20th centuries with an emphasis on American Art. In 2000, the collection was further refined to regional fine and folk art of the 19th – 21st centuries. AMSET was one of the earliest museums to collect folk art by self-taught artists in the 1980s. This focus of collecting began with the acquisition of artwork created by local visionary, kinetic self-taught artist Felix “Fox” Harris which has garnered national attention. Today, the entire collection has nearly 2,000 objects including an impressive collection of over 500 Mexican folk-art pieces that were donated in 2017 and 2019, as well as an extensive collection of contemporary Texas artworks. An emphasis in collecting is placed on IDEAS as part of AMSET’s vision. A robust and progressive exhibition schedule lends scholarly context to the collection and is interpreted through educational programming including live streaming of gallery talks and publications with bilingual essays by acclaimed art scholars. Exhibitions in the main galleries are rotated every 10 to 12 weeks, resulting in 4 to 8 exhibitions a year. Subsidiary galleries, including the Conn Take pART Education gallery, West Hall, Lecture Hall, and Cafe for Local Artist series also rotate art every 10 to 12 weeks. Thirteen ongoing educational programs attract a diverse audience and have made the museum a vital community resource. A major grant enabled AMSET to double the size of the classroom to 900 square feet which was completed in March 2021.

AMSET visitors are primarily from the Golden Triangle; Beaumont, Orange and Port Arthur. The economy is driven by the petrochemical industry. Beaumont is also home to Lamar University. Several other museums and art organizations are in the immediate vicinity and enable AMSET to engage in collaborative programming and cross-promotion. Audiences have grown from 11,000 in 1987 to nearly 36,527 on-site in 2023, with an additional 15,000 through outreach. Since the pandemic, AMSET has embraced digital/hybrid programming which has become a mainstay in operations. Funding is diversified and provided through City, State and Federal Grants, Foundations, corporate support, fundraisers, individual support and memberships.