SMOA appoints executive director

The Sarasota Museum of Art is one step closer to fulfilling its role as Sarasota's newest home for modern and contemporary art.

Larry Thompson, president of Ringling College of Art and Design, and Wendy Surkis, president of SMOA, announced today that Anne-Marie Russell will be the museum's executive director.

Russell, executive director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson since 2003, will begin her position with SMOA May 1.

During her time in Tucson, Russell worked to build the museum's financial stability, and she was well-known for working with world-renowned artists to curate large-scale, site-specific installations.

Renovations to SMOA's home in the former Sarasota High School building are ongoing, and the museum is expected to open in early 2016. The museum, which is a division of the Ringling College of Art and Design, will feature 60,000 square feet of exhibition space, a 110-seat auditorium, a sculpture court, an indoor and outdoor café and classrooms and studios for educational programs.