Who’s Who in Sonoma: Kate Eilertsen

Kate Eilertsen has followed her passion for art and art education from coast to coast.

She began her career at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, where she installed the Rockefeller Collection, and then went on to work at Harvard University Art Museums.

In 1988, she moved to California and received a second degree in education, and served as associate dean at the San Francisco Art Institute.

Since moving west, she has worked with Berkeley’s Museum at Blackhawk and Museum of Craft and Folk Art in San Francisco.

In 2007, she was acting director of visual arts for the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

Eilertsen was named executive director of Sonoma Valley Museum of Art (SVMA) in 2009. Under her lead, the museum revolves around an array of exhibits, lectures and tours, and private events.

Sonoma Patch: Where did you grow up?

Kate: In Minnesota, where everyone’s so nice!

SP: What surprised you most when you came to Sonoma?

Kate: How friendly everyone is, how engaged the community is with the museum, and how wonderful it is to be able to walk to work.

SP: What makes SVMA different than other places you’ve worked?

Kate:  SVMA doesn’t have a “collection”, which is great because you can schedule exhibitions of quality and diversity.  But challenging because you have to start from the beginning every time.

SP: What do you look for when you’re seeking exhibits?

Kate: A combination of interesting, educational and high quality fine art. That can include “out of the box” shows geared to a younger audience like the one currently on view, Sonido Pirata.  Exhibitions that bring highly regarded artists from around the world to Sonoma such as Picasso, Goya and David Hockney.  And local artists, of course!

SP:  How much input comes from the community?

Kate: The Museum has an exhibitions advisory committee that consists of friends of the museum, artists, board and staff.  They meet four times a year to look at different possibilities and then make a recommendation to the Board and Staff.

SP: What are the biggest challenges of your job?

Kate: No question- raising money to support museum programs. Membership has remained strong but individual, corporate and foundation support have all declined in the last few years.

SP: What’s coming up next?

Kate: Undiscovered. It’s an exhibition of five local (Sonoma County) artists who have not had much exposure before.

SP: How much interaction do you have with local artists?

Kate: We hope to begin a salon series in the café where local artists come in and talk about their work with each other. And we’re in the middle of designing a new website that will certainly include a blogspot for local artists to connect.

SP: If you had your choice of any exhibit in the world, what would it be?

Kate: That is a very hard question! Last summer I was able to go to Bilboa, Spain, where I saw a great installation of Richard Serra’s sculpture and loved that. At the same time, I saw amazing classical paintings by Velasquez. I wish both of them could come to Sonoma this year!