The Rotary Club of Akron had the pleasure of listening to Seema Rao, Deputy Director and Chief Experience Officer of the Akron Art Museum at our Tuesday, May 4, 2021 Club meeting. A native Northeast Ohioan, she has twenty years of museum experience. As a staff and a consultant, she’s worked with the Cleveland Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art, Cincinnati Museum of Art and many others. Sharing collection stories is her favorite part of her job. Ms. Rao explained that the role of Chief Experience Officer is a relatively new position in major art museums.
So, what does a Chief Experience Officer actually do, and why does the Akron Art Museum need a position like this?
In simple terms, it is an attempt to provide an “experience". “A chief experience officer (CXO) is an executive responsible for the overall experience of an organization's products and services. As user experience is quickly becoming a key differentiator in the modern business landscape, the CXO is charged with bringing holistic experience design to the boardroom and making it an intrinsic part of the company's strategy and culture.” (Wikipedia)
In a world of competing social media experiences and other sources of entertainment, museums need to ensure the overall experiences of visiting a museum is an attractive choice. The ultimate outcome is bringing a holistic experience to their audiences and making the Akron Art Museum an intrinsic part of the company’s strategy and culture.
This commitment is consistent with the mission of the Akron Art Museum. Their mission is “to enrich lives through modern and contemporary art. The museum manifests this commitment by: promoting the awareness, interest, appreciation, education, and participation in the fine and applied arts produced since 1850.”
“Spanning three centuries, like the museum’s collection, together the Akron Art Museum symbolizes the museum’s dual role as preserver of the past and herald of the future.”
What’s happening at the Akron Art Museum?
The 10,000 Things: Recent Works by Jordan Wong:
“The Akron Art Museum will launch an outdoor exhibition titled The 10,000 Things: Recent Works by Jordan Wong in the Bud and Susie Rogers Garden on May 29, 2021. The 10,000 Things weaves together inspirations from Asian Art with graphic design, iconographies, and the artist’s own philosophical musings.” The outdoor exhibition will be displayed all summer.
Totally Rad and Totally Radical:
“The Art Museum has launched its first of two exhibitions that draw upon the Museum’s permanent collection. Each exhibition focuses on highlights of particular interest of the 1980s. Totally Rad offers a dazzling dive into colorful vibrancy. The exhibition focuses on artists who found inventiveness, freedom and fun by testing out every extreme possibility that color has to offer.” Totally Radical span the decade’s political flashpoints. They show artists adopting techniques from advertising, bringing previously unseen images to light, and pushing photography in new directions, all to get their points across.” Both exhibitions opened on February 18, 2021 and can be viewed through September 19, 2021.
Some future events you might want to investigate further on the Akron Art Museum website are:
- Family Day: 10,000 Things Art Party
- Akron Art Museum After Work: Games in the Garden with Artist Jordan Wong
- Family Day Concert
- Family Day Neighborhood Garden Party
- Public Talk by the Guerrilla Girls
The Akron Art Museum has much to offer, so check out their website for their hours of operation, and other things to view and do at a great treasure for the citizen of Summit County and surroundings. Visit at www.akronartmuseum.org.
Yours in Rotary Service -
Terry Dalton
Akron Club Secretary & Scholarship Chair
