Don Bacigalupi will leave his position as president of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in January to oversee development of a planned Chicago museum founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas.
"Leading Crystal Bridges through its construction, opening and early years has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience and honor," Bacigalupi said in a news release. "I am so proud to have worked with such an incredibly passionate and capable team -- of staff, board, and volunteers -- to achieve such extraordinary successes."
Bacigalupi, who was unavailable for an interview Monday, said in the statement that he will remain a lifelong friend and fan of Crystal Bridges. Museum officials said he will continue to serve on its board of directors.
Alice Walton, daughter of late Wal-Mart Stores Inc. founder Sam Walton, announced plans for Crystal Bridges in 2005. Bacigalupi became executive director in 2009 and led the project management team of architects and contractors during the construction phase of the 201,000-square-foot museum. He also advised the museum in building its art collection, which spans five centuries of American art, from the Colonial era through the present.
The museum opened Nov. 11, 2011, and has since drawn 1.5 million visitors.
In 2011, Bacigalupi announced a trio of endowment gifts from the Walton Family Foundation totaling $800 million that provide ongoing financial support for the museum. Crystal Bridges' opening year also included announcements of multimillion dollar gifts that provide free admission and scholarships that pay for groups of school children to visit the museum.
"Don's achievements at Crystal Bridges have been numerous, and many of our successes are attributable to his guidance leading up to the opening of the museum and continuing into our highly successful next three years," said Walton, chairman of the Crystal Bridges board, in the news release.
At the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Bacigalupi initially will focus on planning, organization and construction, according to a news release from the museum. The museum released a conceptual design two weeks ago but the project still must go through the city approval process.
The Lucas Museum is planned on a 17-acre site on the Lake Michigan shore and is expected to open in 2018. Narrative art involves art that tells a story, including illustrations, comics and films, the museum's website says.
Lucas had considered locating the museum in San Francisco and said he would commit $300 million for construction and a $400 million endowment, according to the Chicago Tribune. Later, Chicago and its park district offered the lakeshore site, the Tribune reported.
"Don shares my vision for building an education-focused, world-class museum that expands public understanding and appreciation of narrative art," Lucas said in a statement on the museum website. "Don's decades of experience include a proven track record for building a museum from inception."
Bacigalupi became Crystal Bridges' president in February 2013 when the museum announced a "leadership realignment," with Rod Bigelow, whom Bacigalupi recruited, becoming executive director.
Bigelow took over day-to-day operations of the museum, leaving Bacigalupi to focus on key exhibitions, including "State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now" exhibition, which opened Sept. 13 and has attracted 88,000 visitors.
The new exhibition highlights Bacigalupi's passion for the process artists use to create and what inspires them, Bigelow said.
Bacigalupi and curator Chad Alligood spent a year traveling the country for "State of the Art," seeking artists whose work had not been recognized on a national scale. From nearly 1,000 studio visits, they selected 227 works by 102 artists for the exhibit.
"This exhibit highlights there are artists working in everyone's backyards," Bigelow said. "He was excited and inspired to get out on the road and do this kind of exhibition."
Bacigalupi leaves a lasting impact on the museum because of his input into the museum's permanent collection, which now contains more than 2,400 pieces, Bigelow said.
Crystal Bridges does not intend to search for a replacement, Bigelow said.
"I'm really thrilled with how he's positioned Crystal Bridges to move forward," Bigelow said.
The opening of Crystal Bridges involved a complex orchestration of activity, said David Houston, who was director of curatorial for Crystal Bridges when it opened in 2011.
"It's just a monumental accomplishment with the number of factors involved," Houston said. "He should really be applauded for having the clarity and organization to accomplish that."
Houston left the museum in early 2013 to become executive director of The Bo Bartlett Center, an 18,425-square-foot gallery space planned for the River Park campus of Columbus State University in Columbus, Ga.
Houston said he understands why Bacigalupi might be drawn to a new museum that is not yet built.
"When you've had that remarkable experience and that complexity, it whets your appetite for starting new projects," said Houston, who has worked with five new facilities.
Prior to Crystal Bridges, Bacigalupi was president, chief executive officer and director of the Toledo Museum of Art from 2003 to 2009.
While in Toledo, Bacigalupi oversaw the construction of the 74,000-square-foot Glass Pavilion, which opened in 2006. The transparent, freestanding post-modern building is 15 feet tall, 13 feet of which are glass, spokesman Kelly Fritz Garrow said.
The Glass Pavilion houses the museum's collection of glass, Garrow said.
Crystal Bridges' budget totaled $15.18 million in 2012, according to its annual report. Its total assets, including the buildings and artwork, grew to $1.16 billion in 2012, the last year for which the museum's tax form 990 is available. Assets were $1.09 billion in 2010 and $1.15 billion in 2011.
Figures for 2013 are not yet available.
NW News on 11/18/2014