A Note to The Warhol Community

Utilizing Andy Warhol’s life and work as a north star for the museum’s identity and programming, The Warhol has remained a uniquely special place that continually welcomes connections between people and ideas, pushes boundaries, and asks us to consider ourselves and each other with a constantly refreshed lens.

As a lifelong artist and educator, as well as an experienced arts administrator, programmer, and community convener, I am thrilled to return to my hometown of Pittsburgh as the new director of The Andy Warhol Museum. The Warhol was actually my very first job (in 1997) after graduating from college and I have such fond and strong memories of the museum, with Warhol’s life and work having a powerful impact on my approach to artmaking, teaching, and collaborating.

Watching visitors’ eyes widen with growing understanding of Andy’s art as I demonstrated the silk screening process; seeing the unexpected connections being made by out-of-town visitors as they discovered an unknown detail of Warhol’s background that resonated with their own stories; anticipating the unveiling of a Time Capsule’s contents; imagining the interplay between Warhol, Basquiat, and Clemente on their collaborative pieces; and taking original “selfies” in a photobooth–all are memories that fuel my passion for serving in this new role.

I am excited to honor the good work of the amazing Warhol staff and leadership and build upon that legacy as we look to leverage Warhol’s resonance for future growth and engagement with returning and new audiences. With such a breadth of programming, including the Sound Series, Youth Invasion, the film & video collection, on-going archivist work, the exhibition program (from 2001’s Popular CultureS that impacted me directly to the current KAWS + Warhol exhibition), the stellar learning and public engagement programs, as well as the new Pop District initiative–The Warhol Museum family has much to celebrate, learn from, and build upon.

Upon my arrival back in Pittsburgh at the end of March, I’m planning to dedicate the first few months to listening to and learning from the community in order to inform future strategy and direction for The Warhol. From current staff, advisory board members, artists, donors, and partners to local community members, youth, and Pittsburgh leaders, I am looking forward to hearing their feedback and honoring their voices as we craft our future vision together. Drawing upon my experience as an early visual art educator, my work as director of arts for Chicago Public Schools, my leadership of the vast education portfolio at the Kennedy Center, and most recently serving a broad national audience as the executive director of the National Art Education Association (NAEA), I’m confident that my skills in developing successful creative programming, building strategy, collaborating and convening the community, as well as leveraging innovative practices will serve The Warhol and Pittsburgh community well.

–   Mario Rossero, Director, The Andy Warhol Museum