The University of Virginia (UVA) seeks a collaborative, creative, and strategic leader to serve as the Director of the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection. Kluge-Ruhe is the only museum outside of Australia dedicated to the exhibition and study of Indigenous Australian art. We seek a Director who has a strong record of working with Indigenous communities, of recognizing individuals in those communities as authorities on their art and culture, and of amplifying Indigenous voices. Situated on the traditional lands and waters of the Monacan Nation – one of seven federally recognized Tribes in Virginia – Kluge-Ruhe belongs to a dynamic arts community within a public research university. The new Director will guide research and understanding of Indigenous arts and cultures and collaborate with partners across the University and the globe to deepen the museum’s impact and reach. We seek a Director who can inspire interest in Indigenous Australian arts and cultures and cultivate support for the museum as it enters a critical phase of development and expansion.
The next Director will arrive at Kluge-Ruhe at a moment of tremendous promise, joining dedicated staff and colleagues at The Fralin Museum of Art to consider what university art museums might become in the 21st century. The Director will help to plan for a new Center for the Arts, which is envisioned to house the University’s museums, a Performing Arts Center, the Music Department and Dance Program. While we work toward securing additional state and philanthropic support, the proposed project will create a new home for integrated arts programs in an exciting multi-disciplinary precinct. A few of the animating questions on the horizon are: How might we best position the University of Virginia to be a leader in the visual arts and the study of Indigenous cultures? What opportunities might we have to present our current collections and plan for emergent forms of digital and new media? How can the museums best serve the University and the public, near and far?
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection
Kluge-Ruhe was established in 1997 with a gift of more than 1600 works of Aboriginal art collected by John W. Kluge. Inspired by the exhibition Dreamings: The Art of Aboriginal Australia, Kluge began collecting Indigenous Australian art in 1988. He eventually acquired the collection of Edward Ruhe, a Professor of English at the University of Kansas who began collecting Aboriginal art in 1965. Ruhe’s correspondence, notes, and publications are the core of Kluge-Ruhe’s library and archive. Currently comprising 3,600 artworks, the collection includes paintings on canvas and bark, sculpture, fiber works and prints.
Kluge-Ruhe is highly regarded for its consistent engagement with First Nations artists, curators and scholars. In 2011, the museum launched its flagship artist residency program that brings Indigenous Australian artists to the University to share their art practice through an exhibition, classes, workshops, and other related programs. Artists typically visit Charlottesville in the fall and spring to coincide with University semesters, with each residency lasting from ten days to six weeks. The artists provide engaging public programming, participate in UVA classes, and enliven our collections through stories, research, and presentations.
Since it was founded, Kluge-Ruhe has constantly grown its collection through strategic acquisitions. In 2023, Kluge-Ruhe received 1,316 limited edition, fine art prints, a donation from master printmaker Basil Hall that represents twenty years of collaboration with leading Indigenous artists. Kluge-Ruhe’s first Indigenous curatorial fellow, Jessyca Hutchins, curated the inaugural exhibition of this print bequest in 2023-24. Last year the museum also hosted a Curating Indigenous Printmaking workshop, which brought together more than twenty Aboriginal Australian and Native American art curators to consider best practices in the curation of indigenous prints. In both collections and programming, Kluge-Ruhe is becoming a leading center for the study of Indigenous printmaking.
Kluge-Ruhe presents a vibrant schedule of on-site, travelling, and online exhibitions, which have been supported by successful grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Mellon Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and others. In an ongoing attempt to center Indigenous voices, Kluge-Ruhe recently organized a major touring exhibition, Madayin: Eight Decades of Aboriginal Australian Bark Painting from Yirrkala, which is drawn from objects in the permanent collection, new commissions, and important museum and private collections in the United States and Australia. Madayin was curated by a team of Yolŋu Aboriginal Australian artists and knowledge holders from northern Australia. The idea for the exhibition was conceived in 2015 by Yolŋu artist and leader Djambawa Marawili during an artist residency at Kluge-Ruhe. After encountering the rich collection of paintings from his homelands held at the University, he declared the need for an exhibition that would share these paintings with the world. Over the next seven years, Marawili led a team of Yolŋu curators, collaborating with Kluge-Ruhe to create a deep exploration of historic and contemporary bark painting. Opening at the Hood Museum at Dartmouth, the exhibition traveled to American University, The Fralin Museum of Art, and it concludes this fall at the Asia Society in New York City.
Organizational Capacity, Finances, and Philanthropy
The work of Kluge-Ruhe is currently enabled by 4 full-time and 5 part-time employees, 2 to 3 paid student interns and 10 community volunteers. Kluge-Ruhe benefits from functions that are centrally managed by the University, including telecommunications, facilities maintenance, utilities, financial services, fundraising and human resources. Anticipating a move to a new and larger facility, Kluge-Ruhe envisions ramping up staffing and resources to support the move.
Governance
Kluge-Ruhe is a central service unit within the Office of the Provost and follows the governance of the University and the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Museum is formally governed by the Rector and Board of Visitors of the University. Kluge-Ruhe’s Advisory Council is a non-governing board with responsibilities related to overall policy, planning, guidance, and oversight. The Advisory Council provides invaluable support to the museum director on an ongoing basis and is composed of 14 individuals, including Indigenous knowledge holders, scholars, and friends of the museum.
THE ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES
Reporting to the Vice Provost for the Arts, Jody Kielbasa, and working closely with the Advisory Council, the Director provides overall leadership, vision, and oversight of the Kluge-Ruhe Collection and its staff. In close collaboration with colleagues at The Fralin Museum of Art, the Director advances the University Art Museums’ efforts to provide intellectually rigorous, robustly inclusive, inspiring encounters with works of art. Kluge-Ruhe’s primary audiences are UVA students, faculty, and staff, an expansively conceived Charlottesville arts community, and English-speaking audiences across the globe who are interested in Indigenous arts. The Director will uphold and grow Kluge-Ruhe’s international reputation as a leader in the First Nations arts sector while serving the University’s core research and teaching missions by guiding the museum to highlight inquiry, present groundbreaking exhibitions and arts scholarship, and support the formation of a new generation of artists, researchers, and arts professionals through the ethical care and interpretation of indigenous knowledge.
IDEAL EXPERIENCE
The ideal candidate will demonstrate a collaborative leadership style, broad vision and curiosity, empathy, and a demonstrated commitment to listening to and amplifying Indigenous voices. The candidate should have knowledge and experience working with Indigenous Australian arts and cultures. Bringing a track record of senior-level leadership experience in a fast-paced, ambitious organization, the candidate will have the ability to motivate staff, donors, board members, and the broader community around a shared vision. They will be a superb communicator and listener, and be eager to cultivate relationships internally and externally.
Education: Advanced Degree in a relevant field is required; Equivalent combination of education and/or experience may be considered in lieu of degree.
Experience: 5 years of relevant experience.
Desirable qualifications include:
Leadership and Management
• Demonstrated record of collaborating successfully with Indigenous communities, and a commitment to Indigenous leadership and governance.
• Accessible, human-centric, and transparent approach to management characterized by trust, respect, advocacy, and a commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion.
• Significant experience building teams and coaching team members to perform their best.
• Ability to work collaboratively with curators, educators, and Indigenous stakeholders to establish meaningful interpretation and pursue excellence in all initiatives.
• Proven experience with hands-on project management of major programs and initiatives.
• Sincere and informed interest in the intellectual project of the University.
• Experience developing and managing institutional budgets.
• Experience in an art museum or art-making setting.
• Experience working across international boundaries and cultural divides.
Strategy and Vision
• Record of strategic planning and implementation.
• Transformational mindset and demonstrated ability to foster growth and manage change.
• Ability to focus on the long view and execute strategically.
• Talent for communicating the vision to the museum’s diverse audiences, prospective donors, and foundations.
• Interest in shaping and implementing a digital engagement strategy to extend global reach.
• Experience with board development and management.
Fundraising and Relationship Building
• An enthusiastic fundraiser who proactively builds philanthropic relationships, enjoys making a convincing case for support, and follows through to significantly increase support.
• Experience building an institution’s funding base to increase and diversify financial support from individual donors, foundations, corporations, and government funders.
• Heartfelt commitment to building and maintaining a strong network of Indigenous artists, curators, researchers, and scholars in Australia and beyond.
• Energetic willingness to collaborate with leadership at The Fralin Museum of Art to enhance the University’s standing in the art and museum world.
• Proven record of successful institutional partnerships.
TO APPLY OR NOMINATE
UVA’s Executive Search Group, an internal search firm in the President’s Office, is assisting in the recruitment of the next Director of the Kluge-Ruhe Collection of Aboriginal Art.
To apply, Workday applications should include a letter of interest and resume. The search will be carried out with full confidentiality. Confidential inquiries and nominations should be directed to Susan Gaines at susangaines@virginia.edu. To learn more about this opportunity, please visit UVA’s Executive Search Group Website.
The University of Virginia is fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff. We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experiences. We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, veteran status, and family medical or genetic information.
The University of Virginia, including the UVA Health System which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physician’s Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, are fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff. We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experiences. We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, and family medical or genetic information.