At Parrish Art Museum, a new development officer and restructuring

Water Mill-based Parrish Art Museum has a new chief development officer, as well as a revised organization structure that features four deputy directors.

Paul Andrews was appointed deputy director of development and chief development officer.

Veteran staff member Corinne Erni was promoted to deputy director of curatorial affairs and senior curator of ArtsReach and special projects. Cara Conklin-Wingfield was named deputy director of art education. Melanie Crader, who joined the Museum as deputy director in February 2022, was named deputy director of operations and administration.

The news was announced by Mónica Ramírez-Montagut, a veteran curator who was named Parrish Art Museum director in June.

“During this, my first month at the Parrish, I have been assessing our institution and thinking about the most efficient organization that would be reflective of our vision of access to excellence,” Ramírez-Montagut said in a statement.

“I’m very excited about this new, more egalitarian structure that supports the vision of the museum,” Ramírez-Montagut added. “With a depth of understanding of their departments, the four deputy directors will bring fresh perspectives, incredible talent, and profound institutional and community knowledge that will guide us through our next phase as a strong, cohesive, and dynamic team.”

Andrews previously worked with Ramírez-Montagut at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University.

“It’s among the honors of my life to join the Parrish Art Museum team,” Andrews said in a statement

“Since childhood I’ve enjoyed the works of artists of the East End such as William De Kooning and Helen Frankenthaler,” Andrews added. “I’m thrilled to join Monica and support her and the team’s efforts to build upon the Museum’s history of excellence while raising funds to enable the Parrish to be even more accessible to the entire community.”

Since 2014 Andrews has raised over $35 million for arts and cultural institutions, beginning at the Detroit Institute of Arts where he served on a historic fundraising campaign that helped its home city successfully emerge from bankruptcy. As chief development officer of the Michigan Science Center, he helped the museum increase its contributed revenue by more than 30% in his first year, making way for projects like free planetarium shows for every first grader in the region, and contributing to the museum’s ability to remain open and innovative during the challenges of COVID. In 2021, the museum was named one of the top 10 science museums in America by USA Today. That same year, Andrews was recruited to be the first senior director of development for cultural arts at the MSU/Broad where, in collaboration with Ramírez-Montagut, he contributed to the museum’s most successful year since its founding, according to Parrish.

Conklin-Wingfield joined the Parrish in 1993, becoming education director focused on making the museum’s educational resources accessible and meaningful to the region’s diverse communities. She created long-term partnerships with dozens of schools and community organizations and developed an artists-in-residence program to connect exhibiting artists with regional students. That initiative debuted in 1999 with photographer Dawoud Bey, and was established as an annual program in 2013. Conklin-Wingfield created Access Parrish, which, through collaboration with seven agencies, engages youth, adults, and seniors with cognitive conditions with the visual arts.

“In my new role as deputy director of art education, I’m looking forward to working with all my colleagues to identify additional partnerships and develop even more engaging and impactful experiences,” she said in a statement.

Erni joined the Parrish as curator of special projects in 2016 and became senior curator of ArtsReach and special projects in 2018. She organized the solo exhibition and catalogue for Tomashi Jackson: The Land Claim (2021); Barthélémy Toguo: The Beauty of Our Voice (2018); Artists Choose Artists (2016, 2019), the Parrish juried exhibition series with a focus on mentorship among renowned and emerging East End artists; and OptoSonic Tea (2019), an immersive sound and projections performance. She initiated new film, music, and conversation series in collaboration with regional partners. Erni is leading the overall strategy of the Dorothy Lichtenstein ArtsReach Fund, established by Agnes Gund, the Parrish’s initiative on art and social change. Prior to the Parrish, she led the Ideas city initiative on art and urbanism at the New Museum, and co-founded ARTPORT_making waves, an international curatorial platform on art and climate change. 

“In my new role as deputy director of curatorial affairs, I look forward to working with an amazing team to ignite and deepen artistic dialogues through high quality exhibitions and public programs that celebrate the rich artistic legacy of the Hamptons while firmly positioning the Parrish as a globally relevant museum,” Erni said in a statement.

In her five-month tenure at the Museum, Crader worked with internal and external stakeholders to develop and solidify infrastructure and processes, thus creating a solid foundation for many aspects of operations and administration. With 14 years of professional experience at arts institutions including the Hammer Museum and the Menil Collection, plus eight years in the financial sector, she brings to the Parrish in-depth experience in managing resources, personnel, and operations; and leading cross-departmental teams to achieve common institutional goals.

“Working with my talented colleagues, I look forward to the exploring and fulfilling the tremendous opportunities the Parrish has to offer,” Crader said in a statement.