Five Questions With: Norah Diedrich

"We will listen carefully to the opinions and preferences of our visitors."

Norah Diedrich became executive director of the Newport Art Museum on April 1. During her previous, five-year tenure at the Evanston Art Center in Evanston, Ill., Diedrich led the center through a strategic planning process, purchase of a new facility, interior renovation of that facility, and a $2.5 million capital campaign. Here she discusses her vision for the Newport Art Museum, founded in 1912, which operates galleries in the John N. A. Griswold House, a national historic landmark, and the Cushing Gallery.

PBN: In Evanston, Ill., you helped broaden the art center’s constituency. Will you apply approaches used successfully there here in Newport, and if so, how?
DIEDRICH:
The ultimate goal is to meaningfully connect the Newport Art Museum’s art, architecture and history to people’s lives. We want the public to take a more active role in determining what happens here. It’s their museum.
My approach to engaging audiences will be similar in that we will be user-centric in our strategic thinking. We will listen carefully to the opinions and preferences of our visitors. What we learn will help inform what types of programs, classes, exhibitions, digital content and other services we provide, when we offer them and how we market them.
Our measures of success will include both growth in attendance numbers and a deepening level of satisfaction and commitment. We have just completed a comprehensive audience survey and are currently organizing additional focus groups, which will brainstorm about ideas in the areas of family programming, professional development, expanded arts education disciplines, and new community outreach.

PBN: You have two major fundraisers coming up, a gala in July and Wet Paint in August. Tell us about both, and how much you hope to raise through each.?
DIEDRICH:
Actually, the museum now has three fund-raising events. Our Contemporaries group had its first, and very successful, Mid-Winter White Party last February. This well-attended event rocked the house and attracted new individuals to the museum, thereby raising friends as well as funds.
The Beaux Arts Ball, to be held on July 18 consists of a Gala dinner beginning at 6:30 p.m., a party from 8:30 p.m., and for the late-night crowd, an After Party from 10 p.m. to midnight. This evening is a wonderful way for us to thank our generous donors and toast to future successes. Proceeds from the evening will support the museum’s operations and programming. Our Fund the Future initiative will help sustain the organization for future generations.
Wet Paint is a long-time community favorite. Over the weekend of Aug. 15 and 16, people of all ages and arts backgrounds will create artwork for the Wet Paint silent and live auctions. The energy and camaraderie surrounding this art-infused weekend generates a lot of memorable art, good will and much-needed funding for the museum.
Last year, the summer events raised over $315,000 in charitable contributions for the museum. I will be thrilled if we match that this year and ecstatic if we exceed it.

PBN: When is your new master plan due and what key issues will it address?
DIEDRICH:
This project is still in its infancy. Next week, trustees and key staff will begin dialogue about the campus study recently completed by a team of architects and planners out of Boston and Newport. Essentially, the goals are to determine how we might physically and visually unify the campus, in order to make the museum’s three buildings and grounds more accessible, functional and vital. This potentially transformative project has inspired rethinking of more than just the physical facilities and landscape. Conversations about new partnerships, operational models and cross-departmental structures have also begun.

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PBN: What was your first accomplishment coming into this job and what immediate goals do you plan to tackle next?
DIEDRICH:
Whatever I accomplish in this position will be the result of others working with me to reach collective goals. A conductor needs an orchestra. We were very fortunate to have over 90 people attend our annual meeting of the membership on June 24. Susan Saarinen, daughter of artist Lilian and architect and designer Eero Saarinen was the evening’s guest speaker. I’m very proud of the record number of attending members, new members as of that evening and the overall positive energy in the room.
My most immediate goal is to complement current and talented personnel with outstanding new hires. To that end, next week we will welcome new Director of Development Polly Lyman and Manager of Visitor Services and Community Engagement Cristin Searles. Open positions in finance, operations and marketing will be filled soon.
If we can continue to grow a culture of professionalism, open-mindedness and accountability infused with a sincere passion for the museum’s mission, we will achieve great outcomes.

PBN: What is your professional view on how to position the museum successfully over the next decade?
DIEDRICH
: The Newport Art Museum is a remarkable resource for this region, the state of Rhode Island and beyond. By intently listening to and being sensitively responsive to what our current and potential audiences will need from us, we can become an even more vibrant cultural destination – fertile ground for generating powerful conversations, ideas, learning, research, art appreciation and art making. Over the next decade and beyond, the evolution of our museum will not be the result of any one vision; it will take shape from a “shared” vision of what the future can offer.
Museums are not a luxury: they play an essential role in American life. The arts offer us a deeper understanding of our history and provoke questions, which can challenge our assumptions about our present situation. They are also economic drivers and a source of civic pride. Arts education teaches critical thinking skills, visual literacy, creativity, cultural tolerance, and promotes self-esteem. Art museums offer a catalyst for the creative expression of artists and an opportunity for self-directed and lifelong learning.

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