Chris Scoates Announces Departure from Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum

Chris Scoates Announces Departure from Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MICH., March 29, 2018 — Cranbrook Educational Community announced today that Chris Scoates has resigned as Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum. Scoates will stay at the Academy through the end of the academic year, after which time he will begin a new position as Director of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. His last day at the Academy will be June 30.

“Chris has overseen the Academy during a particularly challenging time for art schools across the country, and has managed to steer the school in a positive direction, while also providing institutional oversight for one of the country’s top contemporary art museums,” said Dominic DiMarco, President of Cranbrook Educational Community. “He has brought forward several creative new initiatives to move the Academy into the future, and for that we are grateful.”

Scoates has held the position at Cranbrook since August of 2014.

“Returning to Cranbrook has been an incredible opportunity for me,” said Scoates. “I have enjoyed my time working with Artists-in-Residence, students, and seeing the new work that emerges from their studios daily. But I’m excited to move to the city and get back to my true passion of being a museum director. I’m grateful for the time I have spent here, and the relationships I have built not only with students and faculty, but with our board, fellow alumni, and the surrounding community.”

“As Chair of the Academy Board of Governors for the past year, I have come to appreciate Chris’s experience and candor as we plan for the future,” said Jennifer Gilbert, Chair of the Board of Governors of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum. “He leaves us with many exciting plans and ideas as we look toward continuing the Academy’s success.”

Media Contact
Julie Fracker
Director of Communications
Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
248.645.3300
jfracker@cranbrook.edu

About Cranbrook Academy of Art
Cranbrook Academy of Art is the country’s top ranked, graduate-only program in architecture, design and fine art. Each year, just 75 students are invited to study and live on our landmark Saarinen-designed campus, which features private studios, state-of-the art workshops, a renowned Art Museum, and 300 acres of forests, lakes, and streams, all a short drive from the art, design, and music scene of Detroit. The focus at Cranbrook is on studio practice in one of ten disciplines: Architecture, 2D and 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media, and Sculpture. The program is anchored by celebrated Artists- and Designers-in-Residence, one for each discipline, all of whom live and practice on campus alongside our students. For more information, visit us at www.cranbrookart.edu.

Scoates Photo Credit: Tom Drew