NMDCA News:
SANTA FE — New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs (NMDCA) Monday announced interim leadership appointments at two of its museums in Santa Fe.
Kate Macuen will serve as interim director at Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA) and Phil Karshis will serve a six-month appointment as administrative director at Museum of Indian Arts & Culture (MIAC), both effective immediately.
Macuen will serve in her role until a new executive director is named at MOIFA, and Karshis will focus on MIAC administration and remain through the leadership transition. The Board of Regents for the Museum of New Mexico is actively conducting two executive searches, and NMDCA anticipates making an appointment at MIAC in the next 30-60 days.
Macuen has served as MOIFA director of collections since 2021. Macuen’s focus at the museum and throughout her career has been on collection stewardship and preservation. She brings decades of experience working in the museum field, including as director of Florida’s Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. In her work at MOIFA, Macuen oversees the care, preservation, and access for 160,000 objects through preventative conservation initiatives. She holds a master’s degree in Museum Science from Texas Tech University in Lubbock.
Karshis’ 50-year career as an educator and photographer has given him decades of experience working with Native communities, including the Poeh Cultural Center and Museum, where he served as arts training coordinator and director. As administrative director of MIAC, Karshis says his goal is to be responsive to the needs of the museum, its staff, and constituents while facilitating projects, including the museum’s new permanent exhibition Here, Now and Always which opens July 2 and 3, 2022. He holds a master’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of New Mexico.
NMDCA announced last year the retirement of Della Warrior, MIAC executive director from 2013 to 2021. NMDCA also announced in May that Khristaan Villela, MOIFA executive director from 2016 to 2022, had become an associate director at Getty Research Institute.
