Stamford Museum & Nature Center Welcomes Sharon Blume as Director (original) (raw)

Stamford Museum and Nature Center

Stamford, CT

203-322-1646

http://www.stamfordmuseum.org/home.html

Stamford Museum & Nature Center Welcomes Sharon Blume as Director

Sharon Blume has assumed the position of Executive Director of the Stamford Museum & Nature Center as of August 1, 2000.. She succeeds Gerald Rasmussen who retired in July. Ms. Blume will be responsible for all facets of the nationally recognized, award-winning attraction.

"Ms. Blume comes to us with a wealth of diverse experience, especially suitable for our organization. Given her energy and creativity, we are looking forward to exciting new projects and activities," said Keith Williamson, President of the Board of Directors of the Museum.

Ms. Blume was previously Director of The Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Under her guidance the Museum experienced a dramatic increase in attendance and received national recognition through innovative programs and the presentation of original exhibitions. She organized "Kid Stuff: Toys From Our Childhood," a 4,000-square-foot show on baby-boomer toys, now touring to museums across the country and "Springs, Sprockets, and Pulleys: The Mechanical Sculptures of Steve Gerberich," also scheduled for travel. Her fundraising efforts and revenue-generating strategies doubled the annual budget in just three years.

In a letter to the editor of The Berkshire Eagle, film critic Gene Shalit commented on Ms. Blume's tenure, "She has blown away the dust and crust, and invigorated the museum. More and more children and adults have thronged to its exhibits where they have learned and had great times. Ms. Blume is innovative, energetic, and creative. She has not only had terrific ideas, she has made them work."

Prior to working at The Berkshire Museum, Ms. Blume served as a museum strategic planning and exhibitions consultant from 1992 through 1997, for such organizations as the Children's Museum of Manhattan, The Jewish Museum; Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design; and The Newark Museum, among others. At the American Museum of the Moving Image from 1987 through 1992, she was the founding Director of Education and Interpretive Programs, then Deputy Director, Programs. She was a member of the team that opened the Museum in 1988. A native of Rochester, New York, Ms. Blume also worked at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Maryland Institute, College of Art; and Albright-Knox Art Gallery. She holds a B.S. in Art Education from State University College in Buffalo, New York

Throughout her career, Ms. Blume has made significant contributions by actively participating in community, regional and national organizations such as the American Association of Museums, Berkshire Visitors' Bureau, among others.

"I am so pleased and honored," says Ms. Blume, "to have been selected as the new Executive Director of the Stamford Museum & Nature Center. My plan is for the staff and I to develop a diverse range of exciting new programs and exhibitions for visitors of all ages. Given our wonderful resources, I am confident that we can achieve almost anything we have the imagination to envision."

This page was originally published in Resource Library Magazine. Please see Resource Library's Overview section for more information. rev. 3/23/11

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