Gowri Natarajan Sharma to Chair Dallas Museum of Art’s Board – RisePEI
The Dallas Museum of Artwork in Texas has named Gowri Natarajan Sharma as its new board president, making her the primary individual of colour to chair the board within the establishment’s 119-year historical past.
Sharma had been on the DMA’s board since 2017, and is at the moment a member of the acquisitions committee. Along with her philanthropic endeavors at UNICEF’s North Texas chapter, the Texas Girls’s Basis, the Lamplighter College, and different establishments, she serves as an architectural adviser to her household’s enterprise.
With an endowment of round $270 million, the DMA is without doubt one of the nation’s largest museums.
Many establishments of its caliber have made steps to diversify their boards following upheaval within the wake of the George Floyd’s homicide in 2020.
The Artwork Institute of Chicago and the Walker Artwork Middle have been amongst these to call their first-ever Black board chairs within the yr afterward. Denise Gardner, who at the moment chairs the Artwork Institute, is the primary Black lady to steer a U.S. museum board.
These efforts have come as U.S. establishments have sought to draw a youthful, extra various set of patrons.
The DMA was among the many many museums to expertise pressure and scrutiny between 2020 and 2021. Dallas Weekly reported in 2021 {that a} staff-led committee had begun calling for the museum to diversify its management positions.
On Wednesday, the Dallas Museum additionally mentioned it had added to its board a number of new trustees. These embrace CBRE Group vice chairman Jeffrey S. Ellerman; Mary Kay chief advertising officer Sheryl Adkins-Inexperienced; Venugopal Menon, former vice chairman of expertise at Texas Devices; and Jun Il Kwun, founder and managing director of the Actium Group.
