Could There Be a More Difficult Time to Become an Arts Leader?

The museum, on West 83rd Street in Manhattan, continues to move forward with its ambitious renovation of a former church that it bought for $45 million on Central Park West at 96th Street, which goes before the Landmarks Preservation Commission next month. Because its typically hands-on installations have yet to be designed, the museum will be able to make adjustments in light of social-distancing considerations.

Ms. Hoffman, the former director of the Outsider Art Fair — who now oversees Intersect Aspen (formerly Art Aspen); Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design Chicago; and Art Palm Springs — has started her position at a time when the future of art fairs seems to hang in the balance with the current bans on large gatherings.

Many in the art market predict that the proliferation of art fairs over the last few years will shake out, leaving only the strongest standing, and that the pivot to online formats may force galleries to reassess whether the steep cost associated with a fair (including travel, shipping and insurance) is worth it.

But Ms. Hoffman remains optimistic. “I don’t think that they will ever go away,” she said. “But I believe there will be more of a regional focus moving forward and you will need to have a proper digital presentation. You need to have the connectivity for people who aren’t going to recover from this as quickly as others.”

The obstacles, she said, include trying to network in places like Aspen — where her first (now virtual) fair is coming up on July 22 — without being able to meet face-to-face. “It’s kind of like, ‘Please introduce me to this person, please introduce me to that person,’” Ms. Hoffman said. “It’s a big hurdle to ingratiate yourself in a community when it’s on the phone or on Zoom.”

Ms. Hazard was selected to run the Greater Reston Arts Center in Virginia just as the pandemic was descending. “The interview process was completely on Zoom — I still haven’t met my staff or my board of directors,” she said. “I’m focusing on what I have control over — my mind, my schedule, my well-being — rather than what I don’t have control over: the virus, the justice system.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/arts/design/museums-arts-leadership-coronavirus-protests.html