(Posted August 4, 2015)

Kathryn Blake, director of the Juniata College Museum of Art
Kathryn Blake, director of the Juniata College Museum of Art

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Kathryn Blake, education director at the Phoenix Art Museum since 2007, has been named director of the Juniata College Museum of Art and instructor in art history, effective immediately.

Blake, who has worked at the Phoenix, Ariz.-based museum since 1991, will be responsible for the day-to-day operation and marketing of Juniata's museum, located in Carnegie Hall, a historic former Carnegie Library at the corner of Moore and 17th streets.

In addition, she will manage the 500-plus objects in the permanent collection, oversee all exhibitions scheduled at the museum and work with the curator to recruit contemporary artists for exhibitions, design exhibitions, supervise student workers and practicum students, and prepare educational materials and catalogs for museum shows. She will develop outreach programs for the campus and surrounding communities, teach several courses each year and advise students.

"We are delighted to welcome Kathryn Blake to Juniata," says Lauren Bowen, provost at Juniata. "Kathryn's vision and imagination captivated the search committee and the entire campus. Her experience in museum education and her passion for the arts will undoubtedly serve the campus and the greater community well. I look forward to upcoming exhibitions under her leadership."

Blake joins the staff of the Juniata College Museum of Art after a 23-year career at the Phoenix Art Museum, in Phoenix, Ariz., from 1991 to 2015.

"Kathryn's experience in museum education and her passion for the arts will undoubtedly serve the campus and the greater community well. I look forward to upcoming exhibitions under her leadership."

Lauren Bowen, Juniata provost

In her role as education director at the Phoenix museum, Blake led a team to develop interpretive strategies for the museum's permanent collection and temporary exhibitions that targeted audiences ranging from youth to adults. She worked with curators and exhibit designers to create layouts and educational materials, including text panels, brochures, audio-visual components and gallery guides. She also designed and wrote K-12 curricula.

In addition, she was responsible for a wide variety of program types and also created content for the museum's website and social media platforms.

Throughout her tenure in Phoenix, Blake curated the PhxArtKids Gallery for children and families, an interactive space using objects from the museum's collection to educate audiences about visiting museums. She was invited to speak about this work at the J. Paul Getty Museum, in Los Angeles, Calif., and the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, in Taipei, Taiwan.

As a member of senior management at the Phoenix museum, Blake took an active role in fundraising to support museum and education department activities through writing grants, development and special events. She served as project manager for a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to install a collection management system for the permanent collection.

Blake was named a 2013 Piper Fellow by the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, allowing her to take a sabbatical to study audience engagement in museums. She visited 14 museums recognized for innovative and audience-centered programs over the course of a year, including facilities in Dallas, Oakland, Calif., Santa Cruz, Calif., Cleveland, Minneapolis, Minn., and London, England.

She also was nominated in 2013 for a Governor's Arts Awards in the Arts in Education category and served as the museum division representative for the Arizona Art Education Association.

Blake began her career in museum work in 1989 as coordinator for the Maine Historical Society's Wadsworth-Longfellow House in Portland, Maine.

Blake earned a bachelor's degree in art history in 1984 from Wellesley College, in Wellesley, Mass., and went on to earn a master's degree in art history in 1988 from Boston University.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.