RISD Museum Welcomes New Director Tsugumi Maki


New RISD Museum Director Tsugumi Maki joined the team in October, succeeding former Director John Smith and Interim Director Sarah Ganz Blythe, who continues to head up museum exhibitions, education and programs. Maki helped to overhaul SFMOMA’s exhibitions development strategy in her previous job after amassing 25 years of experience in Boston-area museums. Here she discusses her background in the art world, the unique aspects of the RISD Museum that inspired her to apply for the job and where she hopes to lead the institution in the coming years.

How and when did you become interested in art and art museums?  
When I was eight years old, my mother took me and my brother to MOMA to see Picasso’s Guernica before it was shipped back to Spain. It’s a large black-and-white painting showing the bombing of Guernica, and I had never seen anything like it. I remember asking a million questions: What’s happening? Why are these people crying? Why are they screaming?

Then in high school I signed up for a photography class and got hooked. I remember watching my first image—of a mailbox—coming together in the darkroom. Photography became my passion and the thing that made me love school. I studied photography undergrad [at Ithaca College] and went on to earn my MFA in photography at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University.

And your first job in a museum was at the MFA Boston, right?

That’s right. When I was in grad school, I got a work-study position in the MFA Boston’s registrar’s office making accession cards for each object and filing them away. This was before digital databases. That job inspired a personal project making accession cards out of my mother’s old photographs. I was at the MFA for 20 years and slowly worked my way up. I really enjoyed taking on more and more responsibility. I never thought I would be a museum director, but I always liked organizing things. And I think being curious is really important. 

“RISD Museum staff have always done a good job thinking about what students need, and there are even more opportunities to be creative when it comes to engaging and inspiring students and faculty.”

 

Why were you excited to come to the RISD Museum at this point in your career?

The RISD Museum has always been a part of my consciousness. When I was interviewing, it struck me how genuinely excited the staff is about this institution. And the fact that the college and the museum were established at the same time and have remained integral to each other is so important and creates such a nice synergy. I find it fascinating that students are using the collection while learning how to make art.

How can museums strive to be more relevant and engaging for today’s audiences?
Museums and curators have historically been tastemakers. Maybe because of the internet, people now know more about art than they used to, and they know what they like. RISD Museum staff have always done a good job in thinking about the students and what they need. And there are even more opportunities to be creative when it comes to engaging and inspiring students and faculty.

Beyond RISD students, we have the opportunity to engage the public in a very different way as educators. There is a wonderful artist residency program for one local artist each year, which I would love to expand. And we offer free memberships to local artists as well. It’s really about continuing to make meaningful connections and build trust.

What should readers plan to see at the museum over the next few months and why?

The Nancy Elizabeth Prophet exhibition opening in February will be fantastic. Her story is so inspiring, and her work is beautiful. Some of it has been included in exhibitions at other museums, but she is just beginning to get the recognition she deserves. 

—interview by Simone Solondz / top photo by Jo Sittenfeld MFA 08 PH
January 3, 2024