South Texas’ home of Western art and heritage, the Briscoe Western Art Museum, has announced the promotion of Liz Jackson to serve as the museum’s President and CEO as of July 1.
From the museum:
A native Texan with more than 25 years of museum and nonprofit experience, Jackson currently serves as the Briscoe’s Vice President and was selected for the position in a unanimous vote by the museum’s board of directors. She succeeds current Briscoe President and CEO Michael Duchemin, Ph.D., who will continue to advise the museum as an independent consultant.
Duchemin and Jackson both joined the Briscoe in 2017, bringing experience, leadership, and stability to the young museum. “When we recruited Michael and Liz as our leadership team, we knew they were the right people to steward the Briscoe’s growth as a thriving institution known not just in Texas, but nationally. We are grateful to have had such strong leadership at the helm,” said John T. Montford, Chair of the Briscoe’s Board of Directors. “Michael’s experience and acumen have been instrumental to our continued development. We are eager to build on that strong momentum as we celebrate our 10th anniversary later this year. Liz’s record of success and her contributions at the Briscoe prove that the museum is in great hands.”
Night of Artists, the museum’s signature fundraiser and exhibition, has benefitted from both Duchemin’s and Jackson’s leadership, growing to become one of the nation’s highest-grossing Western art exhibitions and sales and attracting audiences and media worldwide. Duchemin and Jackson also helped the museum navigate the Coronavirus pandemic and the forced shutdowns. While the museum closed to the public for six weeks, it was the first museum in San Antonio – and one of the first museums in Texas – to reopen. As the Briscoe marks its 10th anniversary later this year, Jackson is leading the museum’s strategic planning process, with the goal of further enhancing and growing the museum, as well as its collection, programming, and exhibitions.
Jackson specializes in nonprofit development through contributed and earned income. In her role as Vice President, Jackson explicitly oversees the museum’s growth and development, retail and visitor services, marketing, and the venue rental of the museum. She has grown the overall earned and contributing revenue more than 220%, creating and implementing the Annual Dolph & Janey Briscoe Legacy Luncheon to honor the philanthropic spirit of the museum’s namesakes. Jackson also reimagined the museum’s general brand, an award-winning update that has helped establish the public’s perception of the museum. The Briscoe has received numerous marketing and design awards from the Public Relations Society of America, the American Marketing Association, and the Texas Association of Museums, a gold standard for design in the museum industry.
A Dallas native, Jackson attended the University of Texas in Austin and Sul Ross State University and holds a BA in Communications and a Master of Public Administration. She began her career in San Antonio before moving to Alpine, Texas, where she became the Executive Director of the Museum of the Big Bend on the campus of Sul Ross State University. In 2015, she became Director of Advancement for the university. Jackson returned to San Antonio in 2017 to join the Briscoe as the museum’s Vice President.
Duchemin is leaving the museum poised for growth and continued success. Previously holding executive positions at the C. M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana, at the Autry Museum of the American West and the Chinese American Museum at El Pueblo de Los Angeles, Duchemin’s experience has served the Briscoe well. His almost 40 years of experience as an executive director, chief curator, exhibition and program developer, historian, and author helped Duchemin strengthen each department within the museum.
During his tenure, Duchemin implemented a temporary changing exhibition schedule that brought national exhibitions to South Texas, launching the museum’s first-ever summer exhibition within his first three months. His skill and knowledge brought the exhibitions Andy Warhol: Cowboys and Indians | Billy Schenck: Myth of the West, and Still in the Saddle: A New History of the Hollywood Western, to life. In conjunction with the highly popular Warhol/Schenck exhibition, the Briscoe produced its first publication, “Western Pop: Andy Warhol & Billy Schenck,” and initiated its traveling exhibition program. Duchemin also conceptualized, created, organized, and launched The Sons of Charlie Russell: Cowboy Artists of America exhibition.
Under Duchemin’s leadership, the museum has also procured numerous museum art acquisitions and has successfully converted multiple loans to permanent gifts, growing the museum’s permanent collection and elevating the museum’s overall profile.
