At a press conference today, UVA announced Bruce Boucher as the new director of the University of Virginia Art Museum. Boucher, an architectural historian, educator and museum curator, comes to the University from the Art Institute of Chicago. His experience in the field spans more than 35 years.
This afternoon, Interim Director Elizabeth Turner and UVA Provost Tim Garson introduced Boucher to a group of faculty, University officials and students as “a versatile leader and effective communicator.”
“Bruce comes to UVA at the right moment,” said Turner, “as we begin to imagine and move forward with the newly expanded role of the University Museum.” The intention is to physically increase the size of the collection and increase the profile of the museum nationally.
Boucher would like the museum to become bigger and better, he told C-VILLE. “I think we have a great collection, and I think we can make strategic additions to it, in terms of buying first-class works of art, and I hope we can also leverage our collection in terms of loans to other institutions, and receiving loans from other institutions.”
More on the vision of the museum after the jump.
The new Director of the UVA Museum of Art Bruce Boucher says he would like the museum to become bigger and better.
Boucher, who for 24 years taught art history at University College London, said he will bring a “slightly Mid-Atlantic stand,” in trying to serve as a facilitator for the museum staff. Boucher said it will be vital to have “synergy” with other departments, such as art history, architecture and history.
And it is the desire of University officials to bring the museum up to national and international standards, despite the tough economic times—see Brandeis University—that impressed Boucher.
“I find it very heartening that the University of Virginia is seeking to raise the profile of the arts and strengthen the art museum in a time when, let’s face it, many universities are closing museums and selling off their collections,” he said.
Boucher succeeds Turner as head of the museum, who replaced Jill Hartz a year ago.