Stacie Lindner, managing director of the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center (ACAC) since 2008, is leaving her post on March 14. The news comes at an awkward time, less than two weeks since ACAC artistic director Stuart Horodner announced his resignation.
The loss of these two key personnel will prompt a “retooling” of the management structure at the art center, said ACAC board president Tim Schrager.
“It’s with great sadness that I’m arranging my departure. I have some immediate family issues that I need to take care of in California,” Lindner said. She joined the ACAC in 2007 as gallery manager and was then promoted in 2008 to managing director.
“I let everyone know that I’m here for the transition process and for anything that happens afterwards. I’ll be available by phone and email. I’m committed to this institution,” Lindner said. She plans to move to southern California but has no new job position yet.
A national search will begin immediately, but this time the ACAC is looking to hire an executive director, according to Schrager.
“Our goal is to hire an executive director and then to determine what positions to hire for. We know we need a curator,” he said. “With both of them leaving, we feel it will be better to revert back to a more traditional style of managing.”
Horodner and Lindner assumed leadership as artistic director and managing director, respectively, after ACAC executive director Kay Kallos resigned in 2008.
Horodner accepted a new position as director of the Art Museum of the University of Kentucky in Lexington. His last day at the ACAC will be June 6. The exhibition schedule is set through the spring of 2015.
Reflecting on her tenure at the ACAC, Lindner cited the recent major renovation of the art center and Mel Chin’s “Fundred Dollar Bill Project” in 2010 as among the most rewarding achievements.
Schrager maintains that the ACAC is in good shape despite the loss of Lindner and Horodner. “The staff that we have right now is extremely strong and capable,” he said. “The art center is in the best condition it’s been in since I joined the board five years ago.”
