Transue to leave SVMA

The Sonoma Valley Museum of Art board of directors announced today that Executive Director Lia Transue will be leaving her post effective January 8, 2009. Transue has led the museum as executive director for eight years and is now, according to the board’s statement, ready to “pass the torch.”
“She was a phenomenal force for us,” said Museum Board President, Simon Blattner. “She’s a very, very gifted executive director. It’s painful she’s leaving. Without Lia, we couldn’t have gotten to where we are. It’s like a rocket ship over there!”
In a prepared statement, Transue said, “The organization is in an extraordinary and exciting place, and I know I’m leaving it in good hands. In partnership with the community, our members, donors, Board of Directors, volunteers, and the City of Sonoma, I feel lucky to have achieved more than I ever could have imagined in my time here.”
During the eight years under her leadership, the Museum featured exhibitions of works by Picasso, Goya and Rodin as well as exhibits celebrating multicultural and probing contemporary arts. Transue curated the museum’s first international exhibition and introduced new and emerging talent such as Sandow Birk and Jonathan Barbieri. She worked to increase the museum’s membership, to the point where it is now the largest in the North Bay. She also led the museum through two major renovations and was instrumental in securing major gifts and developing numerous educational and music programs. “We’ve delivered a lot of culture to Sonoma,” Blattner said.
Transue, who was honored in 2008 as one of Three House MultiMedia’s Individuals of the Year and is a board member for the California Association of Museums said, “It has been a privilege and an honor to have been such an integral part of this museum for the past 10 years, and everyone involved should be very proud of what has been accomplished here, but the time has come for me to pursue other interests in my life. I have seen the positive impact the museum has had in our community and witnessed firsthand the wonderful resource museums offer, and I’m proud that SVMA stands as a role model in the community as well as to other organizations.”
“She’s worked very hard for us,” said boardmember Malcolm Jones. “She’s done a very good job. I understand she doesn’t have her next step lined up, but whatever she does, she’ll be good at it.”
“There was a lot of thought to it leaving. The museum is 10 years old and I feel that it is in a great position. Now is the time to pass the torch and to really have the board focus on leadership, and restructuring. For me to come to this decision is embracing change, as well,” explained Transue, who, before her tenure as executive director of the museum, enjoyed a flourishing career as a painter. “It’s also embracing change in my life, change that’s needed. I need to pursue the interests that I have. I’d like to get back into my studio, which hasn’t seen me in a long time,” she said wryly.
“I feel like I’ve created a lot of things at the museum and it allowed that creativity and the board has been very supportive of that. I just solve problems in a creative way,” laughed Transue, who added, “But now, I need to express myself.”