The Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (2021)

The Museum of Art and History at the McPherson Center (also known Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History or the MAH) was famed for its radically progressive community engagement work. It was known as a participatory museum that had figured out how to be “of, by, and for” its community—something with which traditional museums frequently struggled. Since 2008, it had steadily gained recognition for reaching out into Santa Cruz and creating exhibits and festivals that centered the most marginalized people in the community. Discovering that the non-traditional museumgoer was more likely to interact with the museum beyond the confines of its building, the MAH took exhibits outside to its courtyard and even into different neighborhoods across the city.

The MAH grew rapidly between 2011 and 2019 and drew significant attention to itself, both positive and negative. It attracted major funding from institutional and individual donors who recognized how revolutionary its community engagement work was. However, it also received strong criticism from “museum traditionalists.” Museologists across the world debated if the MAH could still be considered a museum. While Board membership evolved over the years, there was a coalition of Trustees who felt the MAH had strayed too far from art and history.

In early 2020, the Board of Trustees saw a need to raise funds after a large grant expired and the former Executive Director had departed. They were looking for a new Executive Director to strengthen the organization’s revenue streams. It was unlikely that the revenue streams brought in by the previous Executive Director would continue into the next decade. Robb Woulfe (he/him) was hired in February 2020, largely because of his skills as a fundraiser and potential to bridge the gap between MAH enthusiasts and those who felt the MAH had strayed too far from a museum.