We recently connected with Laura Mitchell and have shared our conversation below.
Laura, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.
One of the biggest challenges facing museu’s today is access. Admission fees can be out of reach, and public transportation may not serve a museum’s location with ease. At Visions Museum of Textile Art (VMoTA), where I have the privilege to serve as Executive Director, admission is free. We are grateful to our many donors who make this possible! I am also honored to be the President of the Board of Directors of the San Diego Museum Council (SDMC). SDMC supports Kids Free October, Museum Month (in May), and the Blue Star Museum program for active military and their families. All of these programs offer free or reduced admission to museums and other cultural venues.
Free or affordable admission is only one aspect of equitable access to museums. Another significant factor is transportation. Getting to Liberty Station, where VMoTA is located, can be a challenge for those who do not have a car. Public transportation in San Diego reaches extensive destinations, but the time needed for transit can be prohibitive.
At VMoTA we work to address this barrier to access through programs such as school field trips. One of our greatest joys before the pandemic was providing classes for local elementary schools through the Liberty School Program, which are possible because of funding to provide buses. We also welcome school camp groups for tours as well as opportunities for older adults to visit the museum. As things get back to normal, we’re excited to see the number of visitors return to pre-pandemic levels.
The museum’s commitment and our belief that museums are central to a life well-lived for both the individual and for society as a whole. At their best, museums simultaneously challenge and soothe. Art can and should make you think hard. And yet, even when at its most face-slapping, art wraps us in our shared humanity and reminds us that we have the power to effect change, even if only in ourselves. I am reminded of Defining Moments, an exhibition we hosted at the museum in 2019 featuring the work of Carol Larson and the late Marion Coleman. Both women tackled racism, violence, and sexual assault; some of the art was hard to look at. But the conversations were as rich as the themes were difficult, and I am immensely proud of Visions for sharing that work with the public.
As a textile art museum, I believe Visions has a particular opportunity to engage viewers. Textiles are highly intimate. We wear them, sleep under them, and clean our bodies with them. We swaddle our babies and bury our dead in fabric. While many people have never stood at an easel with a paintbrush in hand, most of us have at least threaded a needle and sewn on a button. We know how textile art feels. This immediacy makes fiber art accessible to the viewer, and this accessibility makes textile art an effective medium for beauty as well as sorrow, for joy as well as pain, for anger as well as reconciliation.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
A winding and scenic path led me to the role of Executive Director of Visions Museum of Textile Art. I began my professional life as an academic and expected to spend my career teaching and advising university students. Instead, my first job was at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. That amazing experience introduced me to the world of educational and cultural organizations that serve the public. That role also gave me firsthand experience working at the intersection of fundraising, strategic planning, and public programming.
Just prior to joining the team at VMoTA, I served as the Director of Institutional Advancement at Hong Kong Academy (HKA), an International Baccalaureate school in Hong Kong. My role at HKA encompassed fundraising, planning, communications, programming, and community relations for a school where families spoke more than 45 languages at home. The opportunity to work in such a diverse environment was an invaluable gift for me both personally and professionally.
While my roles have varied over my career, some things have remained constant. I am a lifelong learner. I find everything interesting and believe that everything is connected. As a museum director, I am always holding hands with curiosity. I learn something new everyday and catch glimpses into nothing less than the meaning of life.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn the idea that leadership is about “competence” and replace that with an understanding of leadership as humility, patience, and kindness.
Early in my career, I felt that I had to have all the answers and provide all the solutions. I believed that anything less meant letting down my colleagues and board members. I thought those around me expected some sort of perfection, and I aimed to offer that. I acted more and listened less so that I could stand at the front and wave the flag high enough for everyone else to see.
Leadership can, of course, require some of that. But over time, I’ve gained a healthier sense of balance. A turning point for me in this ongoing lesson came from my experience as an expatriate. In Hong Kong, I was immersed in a stunningly diverse community. Living and working in that beautiful confluence of cultures, I had no illusion that I understood my environment. I had to be humble in the face of what I did not grasp. I had to be patient with my own cultural incompetencies. I had to be kind to myself when I made rookie mistakes and equally kind to others who were making rookie mistakes, too.
As a leader, a key learning for me was that not all cultures have a western notion of an “open door policy.” Just because a door is open doesn’t mean that people feel comfortable entering the room. Knowing how to make the invitation to listen is as important as the listening itself.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Sometimes, though, supporting team morale means being open about challenges, shortcomings, and weaknesses. During the pandemic, my team and I kept our morale high by talking openly about our concerns and fears and by supporting each other with positive approaches to problem-solving. We were open about our bad days in a way that fostered empathy, sparked creative responses to never-before-encountered situations, and strengthened our trust in one another. By sharing our “bad days” in the right way, we helped our own morale and the team’s morale overall.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.visionsartmuseum.org
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC4A25tA2kIwtXCoc1q2Y5w/videos?app=desktop
Image Credits
All photos are my own. The last photo shows the team at the museum. We used this image on social media. If you need more information about this shot because it contains other individuals, let me know. Laura