The Telfair Museums in Savannah, Georgia, has announced that Caitlín Doherty as its new executive director. She will assume the post in October.
Doherty is the director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville in Florida. She joined the institution in 2017, following a tenure as chief curator at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum in Michigan. At the time of her appointment to MOCA Jacksonville, her board said she possessed an “X factor, that rare quality that sets an individual apart.” Her nine years at MOCA Jacksonville saw the museum’s endowment double, attendance steadily increase, and its collection expand. MOCA Jacksonville celebrated its centenary in 2024 with a major milestone: accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums.
During her tenure at the Broad, she curated several exhibitions, including “The Artist as Activist: Mahbubur Rahman and Tayeba Begum Lipi” (2016), “2116: Forecast of the Next Century” (2016), “Gideon Mendel: Drowning World” (2016), and “Moving Time: Video Art at 50, 1965–2015,” which traveled to China. She also taught art history, design history, and museum and gallery studies at Ireland’s Waterford Institute of Technology, and was a frequent guest lecturer at institutions including University College London. Earlier in her career in Ireland, Doherty directed the interdisciplinary arts and cultural initiative Artswave and served as visual arts coordinator at the Garter Lane Arts Centre.
“Caitlín clearly knows what it takes to build and run a great art museum, whether it be exhibitions, collections, finance, or operations,” Susan Willetts, Telfair Museums board chair and interim executive director, said in a statement. “Importantly, she recognizes that, at the end of the day, it all comes down to people. Caitlín is all about building relationships. We are very excited to welcome her to the community.”
Telfair Museums, the oldest public art museum in the South, comprises four institutions: the Telfair Academy, the Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters, the Jepson Center, and the Telfair Children’s Art Museum.
“It is exciting to be joining it at this important time in its history, as the Museum celebrates the 140th anniversary of the Telfair Academy and the 20th anniversary of the Jepson Center,” Doherty said. “I am looking forward to listening, learning and working alongside the museum’s staff, board, supporters, artists, and community leaders as we collectively build on the Telfair’s remarkable history and together shape its equally remarkable future.”
Doherty takes the helm at a challenging chapter in the institution’s history. In early January, Telfair made headlines after abruptly laying off roughly 15 percent of its staff. Savannah television station WJCL reported that while the museum offered severity packages, employees were informed of the layoffs without advance notice during an internal Zoom call. Museum representatives told WJCL that the reductions were driven by decreased funding and had been approved by the board’s executive committee.
Shortly afterward, on January 20, Telfair Museums executive director David Brenneman stepped down, citing a serious medical condition, with Willetts stepping in as interim executive director as the board began its search for Brenneman’s replacement. Brenneman joined Telfair Museums in September 2024, after former executive director Benjamin T. Simmons resigned that March. Simmons served in the role for three years and did not provide a reason for his sudden departure at the time.
