SANTA CRUZ — Robb Woulfe, the executive director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, announced Tuesday he would be leaving the position after four years as his family will be relocating.
According to a museum news release, Woulfe’s departure will be sometime within the next nine months. In the meantime, the museum’s Board of Trustees has established a search committee to find his successor and is inviting the community to provide input throughout the process.
The first such opportunity is a First Friday event 5-7 p.m. June 7 at the museum, and additional outreach opportunities will be scheduled for Mid County and Watsonville later this summer.
“We want to engage MAH staff, supporters, partners, trustees and Santa Cruz community members in this exciting moment for the museum,” Board Chair Jorian Wilkins said in a statement. “This summer the MAH will host a series of events to engage with the community and learn about our shared vision for the future of the MAH, our treasured community museum. … The MAH belongs to everyone in the county and we look forward to hearing your voice as we work to identify an outstanding leader for the future.”
Woulfe was hired in early 2020 after Nina Simon left in 2019 to create a global nonprofit. A native of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Woulfe was a consultant for cultural planning and public art initiatives in Park City, Utah, including the Sundance Institute. He was also the founding president and CEO of Breckenridge Creative Arts in Colorado and was the executive and artistic director of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival in Michigan.
His arrival at the museum came just a few weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the museum to be physically closed for a year. According to the release, Woulfe helped embark on a long-term collections digitization project, helped foster additional collaborations, introduced a pay-what-you-wish admission policy, established the Frequency and CommonGround biennial festivals and brought the RedBall public art installation to town for the museum’s 25th anniversary in 2021.
“I am proud of where the MAH is today,” Woulfe said in a statement. “The board, staff, and I have worked very hard to enhance programs and build financial resilience during an incredibly difficult period. I am confident that the board can now facilitate a seamless succession process.”
Exhibits at the museum during Woulfe’s tenure have included “The Art of the Santa Cruz Speed Wheel” highlighting iconic local skateboard company NHS; “Ocean of Light: Submergence” by British digital arts collective Squidsoup; “Strange Weather,” an exhibit by the Institute of the Arts and Sciences at UC Santa Cruz exploring the boundaries between bodies and the environment; “The Land of Milk and Honey” with the Mexicali Biennial, Sé’sh Shóto’sh Psí’sh by Indigenous artist Cannupa Hanska Luger; “Richard Mayhew: Inner Terrain,” a retrospective of the Soquel-based landscape painter; and “Werewolf Hunters, Jungle Queens, and Space Commandos: The Lost Worlds of Women Comic Artists” an exhibit with UC Santa Cruz’s Center for Monster Studies celebrating the works of female comic artists.
“We are grateful to Robb, who over the course of his tenure has moved the MAH forward during COVID-19, and found new ways to expand the museum’s mission and engagement,” Wilkins said in a statement. “We are looking forward to working with the community to find, welcome and support the MAH’s next leader. We deeply appreciate all of our community partners, and thank you in advance for your interest and support as we begin this effort together.”
The search committee has issued its first community survey, which can be accessed at Form.jotform.com/241365043899061. The museum, where the first community input session will be held, is located at 705 Front St., Santa Cruz.