Jordana Pomeroy’s third-floor office sits still and quiet on a Friday afternoon, yet the feeling of freshness and originality lingers as the museum director finishes her work for the day.
Pomeroy began work as the new executive director of the LSU Museum of Art at the Shaw Center for the Arts in July- 50 years after the museum opened its doors.
While she has played the role of a chief curator before, Pomeroy said her new position involves management and setting a vision for the institution.
“I like to think of myself as a good backboard for [the chief curator’s] ideas,” she said.
Pomeroy was born in San Antonio, Texas, but grew up in New York City. She said her mother, a classicist, and her father, an architect, took her to many museums.
Our trips were focused on buildings and ruins,” she said. Pomeroy said the LSU Museum of Art attracted her because she wanted to direct a University museum, and LSU had a good reputation.
“My sense was that if they spent so much time creating a venue for the museum, there was enough people who cared about its future,” she said.
Pomeroy earned a bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr College and graduated from Columbia University with a master’s degree and Ph.D. in history of art.
Having attended a women’s college and published a book, “Intrepid Women,” containing essays about Victorian artists who were travelers, Pomeroy said her consciousness has been shaped to feature and focus on women.
Pomeroy said she wants to continue this trend at the LSU MOA, but she wants the exhibits to be part of a larger vision of ethnic diversity, as well.
She said the curatorial profession has changed over the years, and she developed and taught the first curatorial practice class at Georgetown University.
Pomeroy said the class covered the history of the profession and the role of museum curators. She said when she teaches at the University in spring 2014, there will be a class offered involving curatorial practice and museum ethics.
Pomeroy came to the LSU MOA from her 16-year position as chief curator at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.
She said she wants students and faculty to see the museum as a destination.
“Overall, I would love to raise the numbers,” Pomeroy said. Pomeroy added that people in Baton Rouge are starting to think of downtown as a place to go to have fun and spend time. She said the museum can attract more traffic with increased advertising, public awareness and by offering diverse exhibits to appeal to different audiences.
Pomeroy said she would like to see more students come to the museum and she plans to build more bridges to campus with the museum.
“My vision for the museum is to become closer to LSU and work with different departments,” she said.
Pomeroy said her other vision is to polish the profile of the museum with more members and visitors. She said she wants the University and the community to get to know the museum better.
“I want LSU to be really proud of this museum,” Pomeroy said.
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Contact Juliann Allen at [email protected]