The new director of the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center said she plans to return the museum's focus to education and make the existing exhibits less static and more participatory.
Christina Shutt, 29, who will begin her new job June 6, said she plans to work with teachers in Arkansas to make materials and resources more available as teaching tools.
She also said she wants to work on the digital archives at the museum to help researchers and -- while she has not yet determined any new collections she wants the museum to acquire -- she said she plans to make some improvements to existing exhibits.
"I really want to kind of focus on our own collections and our main exhibit," she said.
The Center, established by the state Legislature in 2001 as a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, preserves the stories of Arkansas black history and business enterprise. The building is at the intersection of Broadway and Ninth Street in Little Rock.
Stacy Hurst, Department of Arkansas Heritage director, said Shutt stood out among the applicants because of her "strong educational background in history and a deep devotion to making history available to the public."
Shutt has a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Central Methodist University in Fayette, Mo., and a Master of Science in library science and archive management and a Master of Arts in history from Simmons College in Boston.
She worked at the Center for the History of Medicine at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. archive at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University, according to a news release.
Shutt will lead the Mosaic Templars after working as Hendrix College associate librarian for special collections and instruction. She was one of six interviewees and 71 applicants for the Mosaic Templars job, said Melissa Whitfield of the Heritage Department. Shutt will make $62,000 annually, Whitfield said.
The director plans and oversees the operation of the museum, coordinates fundraising and manages museum staff, according to the job description posted on the HigherEd Jobs website.
Shutt said she met with her new staff Wednesday.
"They were all excited about new opportunities and changes to the museum," Shutt said.
She said she wants to broaden the museum's influence to include more of the state and -- through improved brochures and an increase in the participatory aspects of the exhibits -- she said she hopes to make it more user-friendly for children and non-English speakers.
As its 10-year anniversary approaches in two years, Shutt said this is a good opportunity to make changes at the museum to prepare for the next 10 years.
"Just about anything is up for grabs," she said.
Metro on 05/21/2016