Episode 217: Transformational, Not Transactional - with Susan Taylor

This week on About Art, Heidi Zuckerman speaks with Susan Taylor, Director of the New Orleans Museum of Art.Since 2010, Susan has led NOMA through a period of transformation, growth, and institutional reflection, expanding the museum’s engagement with artists, audiences, education, and community while helping shape conversations around what museums can and should be today.In this conversation, they discuss leadership, cultural stewardship, community, resilience, contemporary art, public trust, education, New Orleans, nature, and the evolving role of museums in contemporary society.Together they explore the balance between tradition and innovation, the importance of local culture within global conversations, intergenerational engagement, the relationship between art and public space, and the idea that museums should be transformational rather than transactional.The conversation also touches on Hurricane Katrina, COVID, the NOMA sculpture garden, creative aging, spirit photography, Louisiana landscape painting, and the ways institutions can create spaces for connection, reflection, and belonging.A thoughtful and expansive conversation about museums, leadership, and the role art plays in shaping civic and cultural life.