EVANSVILLE MUSEUM DIRECTOR TO RETIRE AT THE END OF THIS YEAR; CURATOR WILL SUCCEED HIM AS INTERIM DIRECTOR

EVANSVILLE, IND. – After nearly 38 years of distinguished service to the Evansville Museum, John Streetman will retire at the end of 2012.  He retires in accordance with his succession plan that he presented for Board approval in May of 2009.  The Board of Trustees has unanimously named him Director Emeritus and will join other friends in honoring him with a Tribute Celebration at the beginning of next year.

To allow time for a national search, The Virginia G. Schroeder Curator of Collections Mary McNamee Bower, who has served the institution in that position for 34 years will, according to Board President Steve Krohn, assume the position of Interim Director in January. 

Regarding his retirement, Streetman says, “Now that we have assurance that our capital project will be completed, as announced last week, the Trustees’ Search Committee will have all of next year to secure a successor.  It is most encouraging to know that there are firmly in place the best-ever Executive Committee, Board of Trustees and Staff to lead us into an exciting future.  I have appreciated beyond all words the privilege of being the Museum’s Director and approach my retirement with gratitude and great affection for this community.”

After the final selection, the new director will become the first-ever to occupy the permanently endowed John W. Streetman III Director’s Chair of the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science, established in 1993 by the Board of Trustees, after a fund drive successfully chaired by Honorary Lifetime Trustee Virginia G. Schroeder. 

According to Board President Krohn, “During Streetman’s tenure, the Museum has seen unprecedented growth, becoming widely recognized as one of the most dynamic general museums in the United States. Since his arrival in Evansville in 1975, the Museum has undergone two extensive interior renovations; has completed one major expansion; and has seen the construction of the Evansville Museum Transportation Center (EMTRAC).  Galleries have been established for both permanent collections and temporary exhibitions in each of the Museum’s disciplines of art, history and science. The late 2013 completion of the Museum’s new south wing, along with substantial improvements to the existing building is the last – and most significant – of those projects.”

During Streetman’s tenure, the Museum earned its first accreditation from the American Association of Museums and has twice retained its rating.  In 1990, he received the City’s Mayor’s Arts Award for distinguished achievement in the visual arts. 

Under his leadership, the Museum has published nine books that have enjoyed international circulation and produced a number of documentary films to complement nationally touring exhibitions organized by the Museum. 

Streetman is also credited with establishing both the Museum's Science and History Departments and securing full-time staff leadership for both, as well as discrete exhibition spaces for their use.

He is perhaps best known for developing a still-growing collection of Contemporary American Still Life painting, occupying its own permanent gallery, that is thought to be among the finest in the United States.  While collecting contemporary art, he and the Museum have been widely praised for championing the work of younger emerging American artists. 

In the March, 2012 issue of PleinAir magazine, its editor, Stephen Doherty, noted in a five-page feature article about the Evansville Museum’s Director and the institution itself that establishing this commitment “changed the trajectory of Streetman’s career, the institution he was directing, and the status of contemporary realist painting in America.”

Streetman has expressed how “exceptionally fortunate the Museum is to have Mary Bower take the reins during the search.  Her sound professional experience, personal grace and ability to work in harmony with others uniquely equip her for this challenging interim.”

As Curator since 1978, Bower is the principal steward for the care of the Museum’s permanent collection and coordinates a dozen temporary art exhibitions annually.  Since 2005, she has served as project manager for the museum’s Board of Trustees in the development and implementation of the master plan to update and expand the facility.

Of his colleague, Streetman has noted that, “In recent years, all of us have had the opportunity to see Mary at her best, as she continues to serve splendidly as our Owner’s Representative communicating among architects, contractors, Trustees and Staff for the current capital project.  She is knowledgeable about every phase of the project and is consistently patient and thorough in carrying out her duties.”  Ms. Bower is currently a member of the Evansville Public Art Association. She has served on the Board of Trustees of the Reitz Home Preservation Society and was chair of that Museum's curatorial committee.In addition, Bower has been a member of the collection review committee for Historic New Harmony and on the boards of directors of the Arts Council of Southwest Indiana and the Association of Indiana Museums.

EVANSVILLE MUSEUMTO MOVE FORWARD WITH GROUNDBREAKING FOR FINAL PHASE OF EXPANSION PROJECT

EVANSVILLE, IND. – John Streetman, Director of the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science, announced that by a unanimous vote on Tuesday, October 16, Museum Trustees agreed to move forward with the final phase of the most ambitious renovation and expansion project in the Museum’s 108-year history.  Architects for the project are Evansville’s VPS Architecture and Ratio Architects, Inc. in Indianapolis. “I join the museum’s board and staff,” Streetman says, “in celebrating this exciting milestone, which, when completed, will represent the fourth and final major capital project in my 37 years with the Museum.”

According to Museum officials, the $14.1 million capital project, entitled Reaching for the Stars, “not only addresses key existing infrastructure needs but, in Phase 5, also will introduce a dynamic Immersive Theater, the newest in planetarium technology.  Through this project we shall, in our exhibitions and programming, be able to enlighten and inspire our visitors in the areas of arts, history and science in a way never before possible.”

Earlier phases of the project, which began in 2009, focused on interior renovations of the Old Gallery, the Richardt Room, Alcove Gallery, collection storage and exhibition preparation areas. Streetman reports that Phase 4 of the renovations will be substantially completed in November, 2012, with the opening of an interactive, hands-on science center named the Welborn Baptist Foundation Family Place; the Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau Center for History and Science; and a new classroom. 

Chairman for the Campaign, Rita Eykamp, leads a fundraising cabinet of other distinguished civic leaders including Niel C. Ellerbrook, John D. Engelbrecht, Susan Hardwick, Robert G. Jones, and Virginia G. Schroeder.  Rita Eykamp commented, “Our Board of Trustees has approved the adjusted design of the new pavilion that keeps intact the integrity of the project’s original mission at a lesser cost.  The Immersive Theater will still be front and center as visitors enter the lobby.  With this new goal of $14.1 million, and $13.9 million already secured, we are completing this important capital campaign for our community.”

As the campaign nears its goal, the Museum announces that construction will begin before year’s end, with the completion in late 2013.  Additional fundraising efforts will continue in the coming months with a public campaign.

Plans call for the creation of an expansive gathering place for visitors coming from the nearby historic neighborhood or from their cars in a parking lot conveniently adjacent to the Museum’s entrance.  The paved, tree-lined and pedestrian-friendly plaza will more closely link the Museum with the Evansville Museum Transportation Center (EMTRAC), bringing the campus into a cohesive alignment adjacent to the riverfront Greenway.

Museum visitors will enter the new facility through a spectacular two-and-a half story pavilion, to be constructed on the Museum’s south side.

The cornerstone of the addition to the Museum will be an Immersive Theater – the newest in planetarium technology – housed inside the pavilion.  This new, larger space will provide a greater range of program opportunities for schools and businesses in our region, as it will also accommodate film screenings, lectures, group meetings, teleconferencing and remote astronomical observations.

View of Interior First Floor

View of Interior Second Floor

About the Immersive Theater

About the Evansville Museum