After four years as executive director, Skipp Sanders is retiring from the Reginald F. Lewis Museum.
“It has been my honor and privilege to serve the museum,” Sanders said in a news release. “I care very
much about this institution and look forward to seeing it continually
evolve under the new executive director’s helm.”
Sanders will leave the museum, which highlights the history and accomplishment of African Americans, at the end of January.
During his tenure, the museum presented several award-winning exhibitions—including 2014’s For Whom It Stands: The Flag and the American People, which USA Today called one of the summer’s must-see exhibits. In 2015, the museum celebrated its 10th anniversary, opened a free gallery space with an exhibit by photographer Devin Allen, whose work appeared on the cover of Time
following the death of Freddie Gray, and hosted Misty Copeland on the day that she became American Ballet Theatre’s first
African-American principal dancer.
“Skipp has created a stellar legacy,” board chair Leslie King Hammond said. “He graciously agreed to stay on
through the museum’s 10th anniversary, where he oversaw a year of
exciting events and culminating in a sell-out gala.”
A search is underway for a new
executive director, and a public announcement about an interim director
will be made in the coming weeks.
Click here to see a video of Sanders discussing one of the museum’s current exhibits, Ruth Starr Rose: Revelations of African-American Life In Maryland and the World.