Director and CEO

Job Description

Honolulu Museum of Art – Honolulu, Hawai‘i

The Honolulu Museum of Art seeks a visionary, community-driven arts leader with the insight and integrity to shape its future as its next Director & CEO. Building on the momentum of its upcoming Centennial, HoMA seeks a leader to steward its legacy and set a dynamic course for its next century of impact. The Director will collaborate closely with staff and trustees to connect the Islands' singular fine arts institution with the public and the world yet always rooted in Hawai‘i's distinct sense of place and animated by the values that make HoMA a beloved home of art and education for all.

The Honolulu Museum of Art, initially known as the Honolulu Academy of Arts, opened to the public in 1927 with a progressive, forward-looking vision: to give the gift of art and art education to Hawai‘i's diverse, multicultural community. Nearly one hundred years later, HoMA is the largest art museum in Hawai‘i and a vibrant center of culture for a diverse region.

HoMA offers an array of special exhibitions, events, and programs to augment its exceptional collections of over 55,000 objects spanning 5,000 years of human creativity. On an island of approximately one million residents, HoMA draws an audience of nearly 100,000 annual visitors to its 40,000 square feet of exhibition space.

As the primary visual arts institution in the state, HoMA has an extraordinary opportunity to increasingly expand its exhibition, education, and community programming in ways that engage locals and visitors alike and serve as a hub for the Asia-Pacific region. Overseeing 160 staff, a total budget of nearly $18 M, and an endowment of approximately $90 M, the Director is responsible for HoMA's fundraising, programmatic excellence, fiscal health, community engagement, day‑to‑day operations, employees and volunteers, public profile, long‑range planning, collection care and development.

HoMA has retained Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist in the recruitment of its next Director & CEO. Please direct all applications, nominations, and inquiries to Isaacson, Miller as indicated at the end of this document.

HoMA's history began with the activities of art collector Anna Rice Cooke, her daughter Alice Spalding, daughter‑in‑law Dagmar Cooke, and Catharine Cox, an art and drama teacher, who obtained a charter for the museum from the Territory of Hawai‘i in 1922. Mrs. Cooke donated the land for the museum, along with its initial endowment, and the Honolulu Academy of Arts opened its doors in 1927.

Over time, the museum's permanent collection has grown from approximately 875 works to more than 55,000 pieces spanning 5,000 years. The museum has also physically grown from its original building, with additions including an expansion to the library (1956); education wings (1931, 1961); a gift shop (1965); a cafe (1969); a contemporary gallery, administrative offices and 292‑seat theater (1977); a wing housing the shop and café, as well as dedicated gallery space for historic and contemporary art of Hawai‘i (2001).

In 2011, The Contemporary Museum, founded by Thurston Twigg‑Smith and his family in 1988 in the historic Spalding House, gifted its assets and collection to the then‑Honolulu Academy of Arts, significantly strengthening its collection. The following year the combined museum changed its name to the Honolulu Museum of Art. Spalding House was sold in 2023 as a key step in strengthening the museum's ability to achieve its long‑term mission.

Today, HoMA continues to reflect Mrs. Cooke's vision by being an inclusive space dedicated to serving the community through art and education. As the museum approaches its Centennial, HoMA's 2021–2026 Strategic Plan charts a vision for ensuring the museum is a relevant and sustainable 21st‑century institution deeply rooted in accessibility and community. The plan calls for creating dynamic, world‑class art and education experiences;

serving, nurturing, and showcasing the community of which the museum is a part; and embracing best‑practice stewardship with a five‑year campus…