The Milwaukee Art Museum has a new leader at the helm — Kim Sajet.
Sajet was previously the director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, where she worked to increase the representation of women and people of color in the collection.
“One of my big projects was to really reflect the words on the great seal of America, E Pluribus Unum – ‘Out of many, one’ – so that when people came to their portrait gallery, they could identify with the people there and could feel welcome,” she says.
In May, President Trump claimed to have fired Sajet from the Smithsonian over her support for diversity initiatives and alleged partisanship. Although the Smithsonian made it clear the president has no authority to fire employees of the institution, she decided to resign from her position a couple weeks after the incident.
Sajet brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her new position, along with a desire to make Wisconsin’s largest art museum a national and global hub for art and ideas.
“Here, we're on this amazing location on the lakefront,” she says. “And I feel that the Milwaukee Art Museum can lean into that much more and become a destination for people across the country and even across the world to come.”
Sajet hopes to reach new audiences with live performances, innovative exhibition design and accessible information about collection items. That means dual-language placards, along with audio and video elements to accommodate changing learning styles, she says.
"Part of the challenge, I think, is to remove or lower — to the extent that I can — the barriers of entry, so that everyone feels that they can come in and pop in,” she says.
Sajet wants MAM to be a place to escape from the busyness of everyday life, but also a place where guests encounter new ideas and new forms of expression.
“When we can exchange ideas — and particularly out-of-the-box thinking — that really contributes to innovation and experimentation,” she says. “And that's really the heartbeat of the arts.”
Although Sajet will miss some of the Smithsonian’s intuitional advantages, including federal funding and free admission, she won’t miss the ups and downs of political pressure.
"This is the first time in 12 years that I haven't had to negotiate or work with my team on a shutdown,” she says. “And I feel a little bit sort of — I don't know — I'm watching from a distance and sending them my love.”
As director at MAM, Sajet is looking forward to meeting guests where they’re at, with greater accessibility, dynamic programming and immersive experiences.
“A lot of people in Milwaukee know us because of the building, the Calatrava, which incidentally will be celebrating 25 years next year, if you can believe. I would like people to also understand what's inside and feel really proud.”
The Bradley Collection of Modern Art is currently on exhibition at MAM and features nearly 100 works by world-renowned artists. You can see it at the museum through January 19.
_
The Milwaukee Art Museum is a financial supporter of WUWM.
