AMA Director Williams announces retirement

ALBANY ─ Paula Williams, who led the Albany Museum of Art through its restoration after devastating January 2017 storm damage that forced the museum to close for nearly nine months, has announced her retirement as executive director of the museum effective June 30.

Williams has been director of AMA for just short of five years.

“It really was not an easy decision,” Williams said. “I want to enjoy life while I can. This will give me more opportunities to do things I haven’t had time for and to spend time with family.

“Also, it’s a good transitional time for the museum. We’re fiscally strong. We’ve added excellent programming. We have strengthened our focus and are commitment to serving our community and region.”

Board of Trustees member Kirk Rouse, who was board chairman when Williams was appointed executive director, lauded Williams for her commitment to the museum.

“I’ve served on several boards, but I’ve never served with an executive director who was more committed to the mission of an organization than Paula,” Rouse said. “It’s clear that she has a true passion for what she does. Also, she’s all about inclusion. She made the museum more of a community organization than it ever was before. We will miss her. Paula has had a positive impact on the community for many years. She has always been a strong advocate for Albany and for the museum.”

Reflecting on her time with the museum Monday morning, Williams lamented the slow-moving process of carrying out the planned relocation of AMA to Albany’s downtown district. That move, which Williams said would offer “the things that we have to all people in our community,” has been slowed by issues with a location that had been selected for purchase in the district.

“I never in a million years would have guessed that we’d be in year two of this process,” Williams said of the planned move, which she made part of her vision for the museum after the 2017 storm damage. “Frankly, I thought we’d be nearly finished with the process by this time.

“But I continue to believe strongly in this downtown project. In fact, I’ve offered to stay on with the museum on a limited capacity to focus on the downtown move and development. It’s hard for me to walk away from a project before it’s finished, but while (Williams and museum officials) want this to work out, we have to be fiscally responsible to continue to serve as an art museum for our community.”

The AMA board had reached an agreement to purchase the former Belk building at 140 W. Broad Ave. currently owned by businessman Bob Brooks. But during the due diligence process, environmental issues were discovered in the building and negotiations with Brooks by museum and city of Albany officials to alleviate those issues broke down, and the move went back to square one.

Williams said Monday AMA officials are continuing their efforts to find a downtown location that would facilitate the museum’s move.

“I believe the museum is a critical part of the city’s downtown revitalization plan,” she said. “In cities like Detroit, the arts scene had a great deal of responsibility in pulling the city out of its financial issues. The arts made an impact, and I believe the museum here can help Albany do that.”

R. Ripley Bell Jr., chairman of the AMA Board of Trustees, praised Williams for her work with the museum.

“Paula has been an excellent executive director,” Bell said. “She is leaving the museum on solid financial footing and with programming into the future. We wish her the best of luck in the future.”

Her current tenure is Williams’ second time leading the AMA. She rejoined the museum as executive director in 2014. She previously served as executive director from 1990-93 after being promoted from the position as director of marketing and volunteer services that she held from 1987-90.

“When I came back to the museum, I never considered it to be a long-term situation,” Williams said. “I also never in a million years thought we’d have two tornadoes (Jan. 2 and 22, 2017) and a hurricane (Michael on Oct. 10, 2018) to deal with. But I learned a great deal and embraced the challenges.

“Sure, there are still a lot of things that I wanted to do, but when I came back (as director) I told the board that one of my responsibilities would be to help them find a new director.”

In her first stint as executive director, Williams led the museum to accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums, a mark held by only 3 percent of museums nationwide.

Williams said one of the reasons she is comfortable with her decision to retire is that she has assembled a quality team at the AMA.

“We have a top-notch staff at the museum,” she said. “I am confident in their ability to continue moving the AMA forward.”

Establishing a new fall downtown Albany festival, AMA ChalkFest, was an achievement Williams said she is proud of. The first ChalkFest brought 11 professional chalk artists and thousands of visitors to downtown Albany last September for a daytime street festival filled with art, music and food. The second ChalkFest is scheduled for Oct 5.

“We researched ChalkFest for three years before we found the right time to launch it,” she said. “A large part of what made the timing and the festival work was finding the perfect chairperson, Mallory Black, who is a member of the Board of Trustees. Her tireless work and leadership took it off the drawing board and onto Pine Avenue.”

Asked about what she was proudest of accomplishing during her second tenure as executive director of the museum, Williams said, “I think it’s getting the museum back on an even keel, expanding our membership and public support, getting strong policies and procedures in place, and helping the trustees build the best board possible. I personally feel we have the best board in town. We are also grateful for so many who have stepped up and supported the museum during my tenure.”

Jim Hendricks with the Albany Museum of Art contributed information for this article.

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