Jeffrey Thomas, the new acting director of the Museum of Contemporary Craft
On Thursday, January 6th, the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, Oregon, together with its operating partner the Pacific Northwest College of Art, appointed area art dealer Jeffrey Thomas as the center’s acting executive director. Thomas brings 26 years of experience as an art dealer and co-owner of Portland’s now-defunct Jamison Thomas Gallery, which he left in 1992, but continued his involvement in the art world by serving on boards and collecting. The museum’s head curator Namita Wiggers sees his well-rounded career as a primary contributing factor for his appointment.
“I think that the Jamison Thomas Gallery was certainly an important element in making this decision, but Jeffrey Thomas comes from a very diverse background where he’s had experience with a number of different types of business and work environments,” said Wiggers in a telephone interview with the Hot Sheet. “It’s a combination of all of those that create a leader to help us in this next phase of this institution. He knows Portland, he knows Portland’s community and that’s very very helpful right now.”
As reported in an earlier article on the Hot Sheet, MoCC had been engaged in an ambitious remaking of itself under former director David Cohen. In 2002, Cohen was appointed director of the museum and set out to expand the purview of this 75-year-old institution by bringing together fine art, craft, and design. Cohen spear-headed a bold expansion and move to a brand-new building in the heart of Portland’s art district.
“In 2002, the Museum was called Contemporary Crafts Gallery, and was located in a quiet residential neighborhood that had, quite literally, fallen off the beaten path,” said Wiggers. “The institution would not have survived had it stayed at 3934 SW Corbett Ave, and, from his arrival, Cohen worked to relocate the institution into the center of creative activity in the city.”
As a result of the rapid expansion and relocation, the museum was hobbled by massive debt it had taken on to grow so rapidly and was forced to cut staff and eventually threatened with closure. Rescue came in the form of the Pacific Northwest College of Art, which absorbed the more-than-$1 million debt of the museum in 2009 while becoming “operating partners” with the museum. The institution is now focused on both design and craft and is expanding its educational offerings to PCNA students and community members inhabiting Portland.
“Where Cohen’s role was to revitalize and relocate one of the nation’s oldest institutions dedicated to modern and contemporary craft, Thomas’ role will be to lead the institution as it develops in partnership with PNCA and the growing craft and design communities of the region,” said Wiggers.
The PNCA has recently helped the museum by providing the support of the school’s staff for basic operations, as well as introducing a new spectrum of young visitors to the institution.
According to Wiggers, the bond forming between museum staff and the school’s faculty has built a strong basis for the museum’s future success. “You have a direct relationship with faculty. Now it’s part of the system of an incredible resource of creative thinkers and makers,” said Wiggers. “You’re drawing from that on a regular basis as opposed to project by project. It becomes more a part of the fabric of how you think about creating a museum for the next century.”
When asked if MoCC was going to focus more on design as opposed to craft, reflecting the emphasis of its institutional partner of PCNA, Wiggers replied, “It’s not ‘as opposed to.’ That’s an important distinction. We have focused on craft for nearly 75 years but we also have had design as an integral part of what we do for a number of years. Going back historically you can see a number of design shows from the 1940s and 50s. What we will be doing is focusing more consciously on craft and design in the future.”
In an article by D.K Row in the Oregonian newspaper, Thomas spoke about his vision of the museum he would be leading. “Personally, I’d like to see us bridge the creative services world, to become a hub for both the design and art communities,” he says, which is in tune with the goals of PNCA since their involvement with the museum.
As the museum approaches its 75-year anniversary in 2012 the appointment of Thomas seems to have come at an appropriate time. Looking to renew a strong connection to Portland’s art community, MoCC sees Thomas as vital for the success of that endeavor.
“Jeffrey Thomas has been an integral part of the creative community in Portland for many many years. He is known by artists, the curators, funders and also then the gallerists as well as by creative professionals in the design community. So it’s really an opportunity to bring in new voices but also use somebody who is so deeply embedded in Portland’s community to create more conversation,” said Wiggers.
With regards to future glass exhibitions headed by Thomas and the curatorial staff, Wiggers says, “One of the things that our institution tries not to do is separate out media as specifically as others do. We don’t at this point have a specific glass exhibition scheduled but artists who work through glass are certainly part of the conversation with the exhibitions coming up.”
—Alica Forneret