When J. Brooks Joyner assumed the position of Allentown Art Museum's president and chief executive officer in May 2010, his immediate mission was well defined.
He was to oversee a $15.5 million renovation that added nearly 10,000 square feet of gallery and classroom space ? the museum's first expansion in 35 years. He was to engage the community with external events and programs in the 10 months the museum was closed. And he was to plan special exhibits for the year and a half after it reopened.
After two years and nine months, Joyner says he has accomplished that, and much more. He has overseen an increase in community involvement, stabilized the museum's finances and grown its endowment and continued its course of exhibits.
His mission accomplished, Joyner has announced he will leave the art museum Feb. 28.
"I see other opportunities on the horizon," Joyner said Thursday. "I think I can make a contribution elsewhere, to another museum." He said he is in talks with other institutions, some that aren't art museums and some not on the East Coast.
The art museum has launched a committee to search nationwide for Joyner's successor. Development and Marketing Director Elsbeth Haymon and Director of Administration Don Gunn will direct the museum during the search. Joyner said he has offered his help and even suggested candidates.
Joyner, 68, came to Allentown after retiring as director of Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Neb. He replaced Gregory J. Perry, who left after only two years to became director of operations and administration at the prestigious National Gallery in London. Joyner's replacement will be the museum's fourth director in 10 years, after Peter Blume held the job 17 years. David Brigham succeeded Blume in 2002.
"The museum, having recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, was fortunate to have had Brooks as the president to successfully re-open and position the museum for the next 75 years," said Dolores Laputka, chairwoman of the museum board of trustees.
During Joyner's tenure, the museum made significant changes and strides. In addition to the expansion, the museum was renamed Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley, signifying the intention to "reinvigorate our museum to serve the Lehigh Valley and beyond."
He planned and oversaw significant and popular exhibitions, including the 50th anniversary of its Samuel Kress collection of Baroque art that reopened the museum; "Who Shot Rock and Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present," that drew crowds a year ago; the "At the Edge: Art of the Fantastic" fantasy art show last summer; and the recent "Franz Kline: Coal & Steel."
The fantasy art exhibit was a precursor to the museum's landing IlluxCon, an annual five-day convention that's the largest gathering of fantastic art and artists in the world. Its first run Sept. 11-15 will draw thousands of people, Joyner said.
He said museum membership has increased almost 600, to well over 2,000, since it reopened, and now counts 175 to 180 members as major patrons. He said he feels like he's "reached out and engaged a lot of people."
With the completion of the fiscal year in June, the museum will have its first balanced budget in six or seven years, Joyner said. He said the expansion project is entirely paid off, noting his predecessors raised $20 million for the project, and the museum's endowment stands at $10.5 million ? a slight increase over when he started.
But the museum still carries significant short term debt, about $1 million, that needs to be whittled in the next five years and turned into a surplus, he said.
"I hope that the new director who comes in is not just a smart art historian, but astute financially and able to go out and persuade people to help them reduce that," he said.
Other projects ahead are continuing to catalog the museum's collection in a database it bought last year. That will be important when the museum seeks reaccreditation by the American Art Alliance starting in 2015, he said.
Joyner said he considers his biggest contribution has been "to revive the spirit and energy of the staff and to bring the community back on board to an exciting place to visit.
"The museum is just a wonderful treasure ? not just the beautiful Renaissance paintings, but everything else about it. And it also has a sense of energy and kind of adventure. People feel that the museum has had a facelift, and it really has."
John.moser@mcall.com
610-820-6722
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