SU announces creation of Coalition of Museum and Art Centers (CMAC) to celebrate visual and electronic arts

SU announces creation of Coalition of Museum and Art Centers (CMAC) to celebrate visual and electronic artsOctober 26, 2005Jaime Winne Alvarez jlwinne@syr.edu

Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor announced at a private reception at Light Work/Community Darkrooms on Oct. 21 the creation of the Coalition of Museum and Art Centers (CMAC) at SU, whose mission is to celebrate and explore the visual and electronic arts. Jeffrey Hoone, director of Light Work/Community Darkrooms, has been named CMAC’s executive director.

“Art is a such powerful vehicle for communication and learning,” Cantor says. “The Coalition of Museum and Art Centers will not only enhance that power, it will provide a new model for similar organizations throughout the nation.”

CMAC will support the creation and presentation of work by artists through exhibitions, publications, public presentations, education and scholarship. It will promote innovation and excellence, embrace diversity and foster creative collaboration with local, national and international communities while actively supporting the acquisition, preservation and interpretation of works of art.

Members of CMAC include Light Work/Community Darkrooms, the Joe and Emily Lowe Art Gallery, SU Art Collection, Community Folk Art Center, Special Collections at E.S. Bird Library, artist projects at the Warehouse and the Louise and Bernard Palitz Gallery at SU’s Lubin House.

CMAC brings together the programs, services and projects of these art centers and museums in a collaborative effort to expand public awareness, understanding, appreciation and involvement in the visual and electronic arts.

The coalition will create a new model for the administration and operation of its members by combining each organization’s best practices. CMAC will forge a dynamic structure that encourages innovation and teamwork, while sharing resources and reducing bureaucracy.

This new model will place a premium on the work and influence of artists and encourage the vision and creative problem solving of curators and educators. The model will create opportunities for the coalition’s smaller organizations to tap the resources of larger organizations and will create opportunities for its larger organizations to better adapt to change and innovation. The overall umbrella of SU will provide the infrastructure, educational platform, resources and influence to make the coalition possible, while also expanding the University’s role and responsibility in the Central New York community and beyond.

As executive director, Hoone will report to Cantor. He is responsible for creating and directing the coalition; he will also maintain his current position at Light Work. The programs that will report directly to Hoone include the SU Art Collection, Lowe Gallery and artist projects at the Warehouse. Hoone will be responsible for creating the cohesive and collaborative structure that supports artists throughout the responsible units.

Hoone began his career at SU at Light Work/Community Darkrooms. From 1980-82, he worked with the organization’s founding directors as an assistant director and in 1982 was appointed director. Under Hoone’s leadership the organization has established an international reputation for the quality of its programs and commitment to diversity. In 1989, it received the New York State Governor’s Art Award and this past year received the highest grant in the country in its category from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2001, Light Work/Community Darkrooms dedicated a new, state-of-the-art facility in the Robert B. Menschel Media Center on the SU campus. Hoone led all aspects of the project, from initial planning to fundraising and construction.

Hoone is a nationally recognized expert in the field of contemporary photography and has served on peer review panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Massachusetts Arts Council and the Pew Charitable Trust, among others. He is also an accomplishedartist who has exhibited his photography internationally and whose work is included in the permanent collections of the International Center of Photography, New York; the Houston Museum of Fine Arts; and the Bibliotheque National, Paris. This past year, Hoone was appointed the first professor of practice at SU, where he will work in collaboration with the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ new transmedia department to further enhance cultural experiences for students and the University community.