The Crocker Art Museum is the oldest public art museum west of the Mississippi and is entering a new chapter in its history. The Sacramento institution recently announced a leadership change following the retirement of longtime Director and CEO Lial Jones.
This summer Agustín Arteaga, Ph.D., will step into the position of Mort and Marcy Friedman Director & CEO. Arteaga is known for his leadership at the Dallas Museum of Art and other institutions around the world.
Arteaga spoke with Insight host Vicki Gonzalez about his journey, his goals for the Crocker and what excites him about making Sacramento his new home.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
You are no stranger to the art world, but you are a new name and face to Sacramento's art scene. What led you down this creative path to becoming a museum director?
I didn't choose to be a museum director; life chose this path for me. I'm originally an architect. I got a BA in architecture and I wanted to do so many things, especially working in the conservation of historical buildings. I went into pursuing a master's degree and when I finished my first year I felt that what I was learning was so technical. Everything is how to keep things running, how to keep things up.
I wasn't understanding what was the history of those buildings. Who lived there? Why were they built? And so I said, ‘no, I need to know about history.’ So I moved and abandoned that. I went into art history.
I thought that I would be doing a master's just focused on architecture, and suddenly I was caught in the arts. This is my life ever since I got a Ph.D. and I started working in museums and exhibition since 1984.
You have been directing museums in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Argentina. Dallas Museum of Art is your most recent spot. When did the Crocker Museum get on your radar?
I knew about the Crocker, [it’s a] great institution, a fantastic reputation; nationally, internationally with a very solid history. The first museum in the West, beyond the Mississippi, and I thought like I'm gonna be stepping down from from Dallas and I looked for something to do.
I said, well, this sounds really good. It's a place where I feel that I can be very engaged with things that I'm truly passionate about. I want to be very closely working with the curators, with the outreach, with education, learning about the communities and working with artists. That sounded very attractive
I have a big respect for Lial. I’ve known her for a long time and I know fantastic things she's done. I felt this is an institution that is very solid and could be a great place for me to start a new chapter in my life and hopefully to contribute to the Crocker’s future.
It's not only a new job, but a new home. What stood out to you about Sacramento?
Sacramento has grown in my heart and in my eyes since I first came. I came to Sacramento for interviews in the end of last year. And it was cloudy, raining and foggy. It was not the best selling day of Sacramento.
I came back and I've been here a couple of times. And the more I learn about Sacramento, the more I like it. I have to tell you that I'm so impressed with its nature, you know, and so beautiful to be surrounded by rivers and the trees [are] such impressive things.
I love nature in a different way because I'm a city boy. I didn't learn how to hike when I was a kid or do things like that. I grew up in Mexico City, and it was a lot of asphalt and concrete. It's been really something that has grown very strongly to me and I just love it. I'm so impressed with the flowers, flowers everywhere. You walk on the streets and you get these smells from flowers. It's fantastic. I just love it.
When it comes to art and how people experience art, I'm sure there's been an evolution in your time working not only in the US but in other countries. Do you think the way that people view or take in art has changed over the years?
Well, I think yes in many ways, and hopefully for the best. I think that museums for a very long time, and maybe still, have that stigma of being some sort of elitist institutions. I'm so pleased to see that museums have really been working very hard to dismantle that idea and to prove how much we contribute to society.
I was driving this morning to the museum in an Uber cab and the gentleman that was taking me said, ‘you know I don't understand much about art.’ I told him you don't need to know and you don't need to understand. You don't need to learn names or facts. What you need is to experience and see how art has an impact in your life.
That's what I think that we are trying to pursue because it can help in your mental and physical states can be improved with learning art. Kids can develop a sense of reasoning and and understanding things that can be very helpful for them in the future, and they don't need to be art history majors or anything. I think museums have done a lot of that.
We all try to reach now for all communities to feel that they belong, that they are represented. That's one of the things that I want to push forward in the Crocker.
You officially take the spot in July, but I'm sure the wheels are already turning about the influence and the vision that you would like for the Crocker. How would you like to see the museum grow during your time?
I think that I would be very satisfied if I could, at the end of my tenure, say I leave the Crocker as an institution where everybody in this city and surrounding the region feels that they're welcome. Not only that they're welcome and that they belong, but that they can see themselves represented. That they can see that their stories are present in the galleries.
That's what is fantastic about art. It's the reflection of a moment in time, seen through the eyes of an artist, and they captured the best and sometimes the worst of things. It's a good opportunity for us to learn about ourselves and about others. So this would be a big satisfaction for me.
With the political climate, could federal funding impact museums like the Crocker? I asked that because the Institute of Museum and Library Services was just cut. Is that something that weighs on your mind?
Yes, it's absolutely something to be concerned with. To me, it's unfortunate to see that institutions that play such an important role supporting organizations that help the improvement of quality of life around the country are being challenged or dismantled.
On the other hand I feel that some institutions, and perhaps the Crocker is one of them, are lucky enough to have such a big base of supporters that have committed their lives and efforts in bringing to this city an institution that elevates values, and elevates the visibility of the great things that California has because the Crocker is dedicated largely to Californian artists.
I'm sure that institutions are resilient and they're strong and we'll come to a point when conflict hopefully will be deluded and understanding will raise.
Agustín Arteaga begins his role as director and CEO of the Crocker Art Museum in July. You can hear the full conversation at CapRadio.org/Insight.
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