Worcester Art Museum Restructures, Will Cut 6 Jobs
The Worcester Art Museum is creating three new positions but will lay off six employees in a restructuring, as the 115-year-old nonprofit aims to broaden its audience and boost attendance.
The museum is creating a senior-level role of director of audience engagement, as well as a deputy director position and expects to name a new curator of American art, according to a statement from the museum.
Last year, just months after new director Matthias Waschek's arrival, the museum hired Tracy Caforio as deputy director. Caforio, of Leicester, had been the museum's human resources director since 2002. In September, the museum hired Jere Shea, of Hopkinton, as director of development. He had served in previous roles at the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, both in Boston. Both will be part of the museum's management team.
A director of audience engagement has also been hired, but the museum has yet to announce the person's name.
The museum also said it has secured a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to hire the American art curator, which Waschek said is "key for us in fulfilling our vision, considering the richness of the museum's holdings in American art."
The curator will be responsible for the museum's collection of American paintings from the 17th century through the late 20th century, as well as decorative arts that include furniture, sculpture and holdings in Paul Revere silver and portrait miniatures. Another grant from The Henry Luce Foundation will also allow the museum to hire a staff member to support the curator.
As for the six layoffs, Waschek said: "Change can be painful and disruptive, but the elimination of these positions, while unfortunate, is necessary in order to keep the museum on the path for financial success."
The museum has established a goal of drawing 200,000 visitors annually by 2020. In its most recent annual report, in November, it cited a 45-percent gain in admissions from its fiscal 2011 cycle to 2012, to nearly 45,600. It also said traffic on its website more than doubled during that span.
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