Sarah Story, executive director of the Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum, will depart her post effective October 23.
James Russell, Umlauf board president, made the announcement today.
Story will begin a new position as executive director of the Mississippi Arts Commission next month. “I have greatly valued and appreciated the past two and a half years in Austin with the Umlauf,” Story said in statement. “But I am returning to my home state where the rich cultural heritage and creative talent first inspired my lifelong career in the arts.”
Katie Robinson Edwards, currently serving as the museum’s curator, will act as Interim Director beginning October 24.
“We are incredibly grateful for Sarah’s service to the Umlauf and to the city’s arts community and wish her all the best in her new endeavor,” said Russell. “There’s no person better suited than Katie to step into this role! She brings many years of institutional Umlauf knowledge, from our memberships to operations and everything in between… she literally wrote the book.”
Edwards, previously a professor of modern and contemporary art, arrived at the Umlauf in 2013. Her book on “Midcentury Modern Art in Texas” (UT Press) was published the following year. She oversees a vast collection of work by Charles Umlauf while organizing a wide variety of 20th and 21st century exhibitions, including recent exhibitions on Sherry Owens, James Surls and Michael Ray Charles.
