Edhat Staff
Photo by Kendall Klein
Mik Garcia has announced her decision to step down as Executive Director and Chief Curator at Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, effective November 1, 2017, after nearly 13 years in the position. Garcia will assume the position of Director at the Arizona State University Art Museum in Tempe, Arizona.
“After 12 and a half successful years at the helm of this institution, now preparing itself for a planned, upward trajectory, I feel ready to step away and explore new professional opportunities and challenges,” says Garcia. “I feel blessed to have been able to contribute to such an amazing institution and am convinced that MCASB will continue to be an increasingly strong force for creative expression in the community.”
MCASB’s Board of Trustees will formulate an executive search committee this fall to begin the process of identifying the Museum’s next Executive Director. Board President Jacquelyn Klein-Brown said, “We are grateful for Miki’s dedication, vision, and many accomplishments over the past 12 and a half years. We wish her every success in the future, and look forward to a new leader who will carry on the vision of future growth for MCASB.”
Garcia began her tenure with MCASB in 2005 and has accomplished a great deal in the years since then. Under her leadership, MCASB grew from a grassroots alternative arts space to a financially sustainable, internationally recognized contemporary art museum. As Chief Curator, she oversaw curatorial and public strategies that received significant accolades from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Getty Foundation, and the James Irvine Foundation, among others. In 2013, MCASB achieved AAM accreditation and, more recently, in January of 2017, the Museum purchased a property in the Funk Zone for the future site of a permanent home.
Says Garcia, “MCASB will always hold a special place in my heart. I look forward to seeing what will come next for this dynamic, growing institution.”
About Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara:
Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (MCASB) is a non-profit, non-collecting museum dedicated to the exhibition, education, and cultivation of the art of our time. Formerly Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum (CAF), MCASB is the premier venue for contemporary art between Los Angeles and San Francisco MCASB is located at the Paseo Nuevo Shopping Center Upper Arts Terrace in downtown Santa Barbara, CA. With the opening of the MCASB Satellite @ Hotel Indigo Santa Barbara in February of 2012, MCASB becomes one museum with two locations. Located in the Hotel Indigo Santa Barbara at 121 State Street, the MCASB Satellite space features yearlong exhibitions of stimulating contemporary artworks.
