Nannette Vicars Maciejunes, 1975
B.F.A., Denison University
M.A., The Ohio State University
Executive Director
Columbus Museum of Art
Granville, Ohio
Citation awarded May, 2015
Nannette Maciejunes has been Executive Director of the Columbus Museum of Art since 2003. Prior to that, she served as Director of Collections and Exhibitions for ten years. She received the Ohio Governor’s Award for Arts Administration in 2006. In 2009 Nannette was named a YWCA Woman of Achievement for breaking down barriers and creating opportunities for others. She has been an active community leader, serving on numerous boards, and has been a member of the Denison University Research Foundation Board since 2003.
Nannette attended Stanford University’s Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders and the Getty’s Leadership Institute for Museum Management. She graduated summa cum laude from Denison University with a B.A. in History of Art and an M.A. with further graduate studies toward a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University. She has been with the Columbus Museum of Art since she began as a curatorial research assistant in
1984, with a brief absence while she served as Curator of Collections and Exhibitions (1989-1990) at The Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis. In 1980-1981, she was Director of Denison University’s Gallery. Nannette specializes in early twentieth-century American art. As a curator, she organized a number of noted exhibitions and has published widely on American art. She was instrumental in the Museum’s acquisition of The Photo League collection and the Schiller Collection of American Social Commentary Art, which enabled the Museum to present a broader, more vivid picture of the American experience by giving a voice to artists who have traditionally been marginalized.
Under Nannette’s leadership, the Museum adopted the mission to create great experiences with great art for everyone and opened an innovative space, the Center for Creativity, which demonstrates the Museum’s leadership in the field of the visitor-centered experience and commitment to creativity. In
2013, the Museum was awarded the Institute of Library and Museum Services’ National Medal, the nation’s highest honor for museums, for transformational work in their community. During Nannette’s tenure as Executive Director, the Museum has successfully engaged in a $94 million endowment and capital campaign. The Museum will open its renovated and expanded building in October 2015.
