Chief Operating Officer

The Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with Aspen Art Museum in the search for a Chief Operating Officer.

Reporting to the Nancy and Bob Magoon Director, the Chief Operating Officer will provide the leadership, management, and vision necessary to ensure that the Aspen Art Museum has the proper operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures, and people systems in place to effectively grow the organization and to ensure financial strength and operating efficiency. The Chief Operating Officer will support the work of the Nancy and Bob Magoon Director and the Board of Trustees as a key player in driving the execution of AAM's five year plan, ensuring that interim milestones are met with a focus on improving efficiency and interdepartmental collaboration. 

The Aspen Art Museum (AAM) is a non-collecting institution presenting the newest evolutions in international contemporary art. The AAM’s innovative and timely exhibitions, education and public programs, immersive activities, and community happenings actively engage audiences in thought-provoking experiences of art, culture, and society. The museum presents first-time US solo museum exhibitions by significant emerging contemporary artists from around the globe; solo exhibitions by established artists that focus on new, unrecognized, or underappreciated aspects of their artistic output; and group exhibitions curated to address prescient or topical contemporary cultural, social, or political subject matter. Upcoming exhibitions include an Andy Warhol retrospective, major commission by Gaetano Pesce, and Mountain Time, a film and video exhibition curated with the Whitney Museum.

In 1976, a City of Aspen vote led to the acquisition and development of an out-of-use building at 590 North Mill Street that became the Aspen Art Museum’s home until 2014. Built in 1888, the Hunter Creek Power Plant first served the city’s silver mining operations while also enabling Aspen to be the first city west of the Mississippi to have streetlights powered by hydroelectric energy. Supporting a recommendation that an art space would offer the most creative and adaptive community service, the city assisted efforts to rehabilitate the disused structure. By November 1977, the Aspen Center for the Visual Arts (ACVA) was incorporated within the state of Colorado, and in August 1978, the ACVA board selected its first director.

On June 16, 1979, the ACVA opened to the public with the inaugural exhibition American Portraits of the Sixties and Seventies, featuring works by Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Chuck Close, Willem de Kooning, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Mapplethorpe, Claes Oldenburg, and Andy Warhol, among others. The first year three years of programming featured a wide range of exhibitions, including one-person shows by artists such as Robert Rauschenberg. In 1984, the board approved a name change to the Aspen Art Museum (AAM) to better reflect its curatorial scope, established its AAM National Council, and became a nationally accredited institution through the American Association of Museums (now American Alliance of Museums).

A bachelor's degree is required for this position as is at least seven years of relevant experience. The salary for this position is $180K to $200K annually. Aspen Art Museum offers a competitive package of benefits. All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter and résumé. Cover letters should be responsive to the mission of Aspen Art Museum and the responsibilities and qualifications presented in the prospectus.