“As our global communities continue to grow, it is important as a cultural professional that I share my experiences by continuing to bring diverse communities together. We all learn differently; we all see the world from various lenses. Through educational and cultural institutions, we are given the opportunity to explore, experience, enhance, enrich and share our diverse histories, cultures and values.” Michele A. Parchment
Michele A. Parchment extensive resume includes more than 30 years working with nonprofit and for-profit organizations, including over 25+ years in arts and museum management and as a senior supervisor for public and educational programming, volunteer/visitor services, collections, exhibitions, cultural festivals and community initiatives. Parchment has worked with several well-known museums across the United States, including facility start-up experiences at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History in Detroit, Michigan, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History and Culture in Baltimore, Maryland, the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, Charlotte, NC and presently at the Sarasota Art Museum, Sarasota, Florida.
Parchment has held project management, education, collections and exhibition and programming positions. She has served as a review panelist for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS Learning Opportunity Grants), North Carolina Arts Council and the Arts and Science Council in Charlotte, NC. In July 2008, she received an Advanced Certificate in Non-Profit Leadership from Duke University, in May 2011 she was selected to join a seven-member national advisory board for the new Synthia SAINT JAMES Fine Arts Institute of St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh, North Carolina and in 2013 she was selected as one of four national jurors for the MacColl Johnson Fellowship of Providence, Rhode Island and an advisory committee member for The Gathering Place Project, for the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission.
Parchments’ successes at implementing strong programs in conjunction with exhibitions, collections and activities are among many strengths she brings. She is also a
skilled fundraiser and grants writer; she excels at gathering people to build community and to work collaboratively toward common goals.
Parchment has directed and managed the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture education, operations, collections and acquisitions departments. She developed and implemented policies and procedures for the Gantt Center’s permanent collection and The Hewitt Collection of African-American Art and exhibition department which included the digitalization of the Hewitt Collection and making it available on the Center’s website. She has created a project development plan for organizing and implementing exhibitions, collections, acquisitions and exhibition-related programs and budgets. Parchment also worked closely with the Center’s other departments (Marketing, Development, Operations, Museum Store and Audience Development) in providing information that was disseminated on Facebook and other social media networks. She coordinated participation of the artists, oversaw the implementation of exhibitions which included wall-to-wall insurance coverage, labels and wall text (didactics), coordinated and implemented the process of incoming and outgoing loans, updating the American Association of Museum standard Facility Report and coordinated the installation and de-installation of exhibitions.
As part of her various duties, she was responsible for initiating communication with museum officials, board members, artists, donors, volunteers, docents and outside suppliers; building relationships, negotiated costs, and evaluated services provided. She maintained, updated and refined the Past Perfect collections database; processed all loans, donations and managed transaction records; directed all operational and logistical aspects and requirements for incoming and outgoing artwork; identified and conducted research on artists, guest curators, art mediums and/or artifacts; updated and implemented the board-approved collections plan; managed the physical security and remedial conservation of the collections; maintained positive donor/lender relations; forecasted and reported various budget scenarios for collections, education/community programs and exhibitions and served as the point of contact for emergencies that pertain to exhibitions and collections.
In her present position as Director of Public Engagement for the Sarasota Art Museum (a division of Ringling College of Arts and Design), Parchment is responsible
for designing, building and implementing the museum’s educational programs and other public programming initiatives, including deep and wide community engagement. Parchment is committed to a collaborative and innovative approach to developing an engaging, multigenerational, inclusive public engagement program that is aligned with the Sarasota Art Museum’s mission, the needs of the community, the schools and the global visitors that the museum serves.
Parchment believes in providing exceptional thought leadership regarding trends in education, community relations and outreach, exhibitions, operations and the interrelationship of how each museum department contributes to delivering diversity and inclusion to the global community.
February 13, 2020
Artists