Brian Ferriso Named Director of Dallas Museum of Art

Brian Ferriso Named Director of Dallas Museum of Art

TheDallas Museum of Art(DMA) has appointed Brian Ferriso as its new director. Ferriso arrives to the role from the Portland Art Museum (PMA) in Oregon, which he helmed for nearly two decades, beginning in 2006. He replaces longtime director Agustín Arteaga,who stepped downlast winter to lead Sacramento’s Crocker Art Museum. Ferriso will take up his new post on December 1.

“Brian Ferriso is a leader with a proven track record in realizing successful capital campaigns and sustainable organizational growth,” said DMA board president Gowri Natarajan Sharma in a statement. “He has shaped an ambitious vision for the Portland Art Museum and developed programs that advance its cultural, civic, and social role in the city and region. With this powerful combination of skills and expertise, we are confident that Brian is the right director to shepherd the DMA into its next era as a thriving institution with a growing collection that is more inclusive, more accessible, and more reflective of the community we serve.”

While at PAM, Ferriso grew the museum’s endowment by $40 million, struck $7 million in unfunded debt from its balance sheet, and doubled the institution’s curatorial staff, with roughly half of those positions being permanently endowed. He also established the museum’s Art Access Endowment program, which supports free family days, free school tours, and free admission to visitors seventeen and under. Ferriso spearheaded the fundraising campaign for the $140 million expansion and renovation of PAM’s campus, which will open to the public this November, and led the drive to acquire more works by women, Native American, and Black artists, as well as those by other artists of color. He was previously director of Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from 2002 to 2006, and earlier held roles at the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago.

“I’ve long believed that museums can play a vital role within the civic and social fabric of a community, and as the city’s museum, the Dallas Museum of Art is the perfect place for me to carry on this work,” said Ferriso in a statement. “The museum is at an inflection point, with an impressive legacy behind it and a new future ahead, catalyzed by the current expansion project that will allow the DMA to establish greater connections with the community through its outstanding collections and programs. I feel lucky to join at such a transformative moment and am excited to work hand-in-hand with the museum’s dedicated staff and board—as well as city leaders, stakeholders, and the public—to help shape the evolving vision for the DMA.”