The Dallas Museum of Art has announced that Agustín Arteaga will step down as its executive director at the end of this year. During his eight years in the position, Arteaga led the museum through a global pandemic, oversaw numerous important curatorial hires, and launched a series of major initiatives.
His time at the museum started on a high note with an exhibition he curated. “México 1900-1950: Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco, and the Avant-Garde” offered museumgoers new perspectives on the work of famous 20th century artists, while placing lesser-known names from that period into historical context.
That exhibit corresponded with his Bilingual Initiative, which required that all interpretation materials in the museum be in both English and Spanish. For that exhibit in particular he oversaw programming like “Yo Soy DMA,” a Latino outreach initiative that demonstrated Arteaga’s hope that the DMA under his leadership would be committed to reflecting the multicultural city. In many ways, he was successful. The press release announcing his resignation noted that he helped increase both the diversity of visitors and members of the Board of Trustees.
Of course, Arteaga’s tenure also included an unprecedented pandemic, which shuttered museums around the world for months. The DMA reopened in August 2020 with strict mask mandates and social distancing, but even four years later, attendance numbers are nothing like they were pre-pandemic. When the DMA laid off 20 workers, or 8 percent of its staff, last fall, it cited the continued decline in attendance numbers.
That round of layoffs came directly after the winner had been announced in the Reimagining the Museum campaign, an international architecture competition that led to plans for a redesign of the museum campus. The winner, a design by Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos (NSA), was lauded by Dallas Morning News architecture critic Mark Lamster, who took his readers on a journey through Spain to see some of the firm’s other designs. The press release announcing the winning firm promised the results would offer “a radical transformation to speak to new audiences.”
Of course, Arteaga’s successor will have to raise money to build a project with a pricetag of upwards of $150 million. Arteaga said in a press release Monday that “with this groundwork in place, it is the right moment to hand the reins to the next leader who will see this monumental multi-year project to fruition and lead the DMA into the future.”
Before his resignation, Arteaga sought $36 million, but ultimately secured $20 million in bond money from the city for various maintenance costs for the DMA’s current building, which is just over 40 years old. That money was designated primarily to temperature and humidity controls– vital components in art preservation.
With this news, the region’s major encyclopedic museum joins a growing list of major art institutions that will enter 2025 without a permanent director at the helm. This year alone, resignations have been announced at the DMA, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas Contemporary, and The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Additionally, this year marked the final edition of Two x Two, the highly successful, and very glamorous fundraiser, which benefits AIDS research nonprofit amfAR and the DMA. This dearth in arts leadership means the city is on the verge of its own radical transformation — here’s hoping that’s a good thing.
Author
