The Delaware Art Museum’s Board of Trustees announced the appointment of Sam Sweet to executive director and chief executive officer of the museum, effective July 1. Sweet will relocate to Wilmington from Washington, D.C., where he led several prominent arts organizations over the past two decades.
“We are extremely energized about the future of the Delaware Art Museum,” said Roberts W. Brokaw III, board president and chair of the search committee. “The appointment of a bold cultural leader like Sam Sweet to guide our Museum into the future starts a new and exciting chapter in our history.
“During his 20-year career, Sam has demonstrated a keen ability not only to drive economic growth and community development, but also to improve education and quality of life in the communities he and his organizations have served.”
Sweet has a track record of leading arts organizations through times of transformative change. He worked as executive director at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C., and managing director of the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia. He also contributed to the success of The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C., helping it to become one of the largest nonprofit theaters in the country.
From 2008 – 2009 he served as chief operating officer for the Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art and Design, where he rebuilt the organization’s management capacity and structure.
Sweet currently teaches in George Mason University’s Masters in Arts Management program and owns a consulting practice that aids nonprofits in building organizational capacity.
