George Kinghorn Stepping Down?
Rumors abound that George Kinghorn, the executive Director of the Jacksonville Museum of Contemporary Art (JMOCA) has asked to resume his former position as Curator of Exhibits and that the JMOCA board initiate a search to replace him as executive director. Sources cite the increased stress and administrative nature of the position, which has taken Kinghorn away from his true passion curating exhibits.If so, it will be a singular development in the turbulent history of the oft named, and locally venerated institution.
Published April 20, 2007 in News
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Originally the Jacksonville Art Museum, the organization changed direction when it lost its Ira Koger sponsored home on the southside in the chaos preceding the eccentric millionaire's demise.
Photo studio owner Jane Craven took leadership of the organization hiring George while the 'museum' was little more than an office in riverside and a collection being stored at the Cummer Museum.
Craven and Kinghorn put together the necessary financial backing and board in order to resurrect the institution in its present downtown location under the aegis of local gazillionaire, Preston Haskell as the newly minted Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art.
In a shakeup still opaque to the community at large, Craven resigned from the board and George Kinghorn was appointed as the executive director after a series of masterful moves on his part restoring the credibility of the Museum as a museum rather than simply a gallery with an admission ticket.
These moves included establishing an educational program as well as several noted exhibitions bringing him near universal credit.
Soon after becoming chief executive, Kinghorn led the move to rename and refocus the mission of the institution as a Museum of Contemporary Art, which gave the organization a shot at acquiring both a respectable collection as well as an active role in the development a current art movement.
Seemingly no sooner than the new signs went up, Kinghorn announced his wish to return to his previous role, according to inside sources.
If true, the move back downward is a surprise to most in the Jacksonville Art Community and it will be interesting to see who Kinghorn's replacement will be.
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Big Surprise
April 23, 2007, 11:21:21 AMI would like to see a rise in the pride level in Jacksonville by Jacksonvillians. Where did it go?
Was there ever pride in living or being from Jacksonville? What about all those big sports
franchises - If sports are a form of art then they should support the arts, if it is not then they
should compensate for their lack of art. Either way the haves have a responsibility to those
they profit from - the rest of us.
Owen Holmes
April 24, 2007, 08:40:00 AMKinghorn IS stepping down. He'll go back to being curator once the board finds a new director. The issue of Folio that comes out today includes an interview with him and Haskell re: the reasons for the shake-up, the loss of several top managers within nine months and the general financial state of MOCA.