Episode #27 feat. Sandra Jackson-Dumont
In this episode, Eric speaks with Sandra Jackson-Dumont — director and CEO of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. They discuss her experience of growing up in San Francisco, her initial exposure and relationship to art.. her academic journey and what eventually lead her into a career path in the art and museum world. Her distinctly creative approach to making art and museums more accessible to the public, by weaving it into the social fabric of society and making it more of an inclusive experience for all. She sheds light on her most recent project, being the building of a new museum in Los Angeles' Exposition Park; devoted to the narrative arts and her vision for the future and utilizing art and cultural spaces as a means to make a more ‘just society’.
Guest Bio: Curator, author, educator, administrator, and public advocate for reimagining the role of art museums in society, Sandra Jackson-Dumont has served as Director and Chief Executive Officer of the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art since January 2020. Tasked with leading the museum through its opening and beyond, Jackson-Dumont oversees all curatorial, educational, public, and operational affairs for the fast-developing institution, including realization of the currently under construction 11-acre campus in Los Angeles’s Exposition Park, which includes a nearly 300,000-square-foot museum building designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects and an expansive new park designed by Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA.
Known for her ability to blur the lines—whether between academia and popular culture or traditional and non-traditional museum audiences—Jackson-Dumont has also held positions at the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Seattle Art Museum. Throughout her career, she has collaborated extensively with living artists, communities, creatives, and historical materials. Her work catalyzes the presence of increasingly dynamic and diverse audiences in cultural spaces while exploring issues of relevance. From 2000 to 2006 she programmed robust programs at The Studio Museum in Harlem. From 2006 to 2014, she held the post of Deputy Director for Education and Public Programs and Adjunct Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) where she oversaw education and public programs, interpretive technology, and community affairs across the museum’s three venues and organized exhibitions and collaborative projects of the work of artists including Theaster Gates, Titus Kaphar, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Aaron Fowler, Marie Watt, Nick Cave, Donald Byrd, and Sondra Perry. She is the person behind the creation of SAM’s Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Prize, a biannual award given to an early career Black artist which launched in 2009 and honored Lauren Halsey in 2021. She began her career in museums with an internship at The Studio Museum in Harlem.
A native of San Francisco, Jackson-Dumont earned her B.A. in art history from Sonoma State University and received her M.A. in art history from Howard University. While pursuing her career in museums, she has also taught at the Rhode Island School of Design, New York University, and the University of Washington. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two godchildren.
