Professional Spotlight: Saralyn Reece Hardy

Saralyn Reece Hardy, Director, Spencer Museum of Art

| 2016 Q3 | photo by Steven Hertzog
Saralyn Reece Hardy

What is your business’s most important commodity or service?

Bringing art and people together!

The Spencer Museum is dedicated to serving the Lawrence community and regional communities through educational experiences with works of art and artists. Utilizing our rich and diverse collections, the art museum contributes to the academic mission of the University of Kansas (KU) and serves as an intersection of creativity among scholars, students, artists and the public.

What is your business’s most important priority?


Our most important priority is to serve as a catalyst for inquiry and discovery through art. To accomplish this, we must “tune” to our audiences on their own terms while bringing the very best scholarship and most thoughtful questions forward in our exhibitions, programs and projects. The urgency at this moment for art museums, especially those in educational settings, is to create an inspiring and empathetic space for all people. Learning spaces need to be beautiful and also comfortable. We must also be deep portals for thought and broad platforms for participation and discourse. Deep and wide—it can’t be either/or. The Spencer Museum must make a difference in people’s lives now and in the future, so we are called to invest in future art and future artists. In the most traditional sense, being fully in the now means caring for the art over time so it is there for generations; and in the most experimental sense, it means to encourage playfulness, apply novel approaches and bring new perspectives to our work. If we have never tried something, this might be the time.

What has been some of the most important aspects of your success?


The Spencer is surrounded and supported by people who love art and are willing to work past sundown to be sure others might take pleasure and meaning from the art. That’s it: love and work.

How many people does The Spencer employ? Serve, interact with on a daily basis, and are responsible to?


As we begin the new academic year, we have 28 staff, 16 students and 50 volunteers. We are responsible to an entire public—the University of Kansas, Lawrence and the state of Kansas are our first circles of responsibility, but, of course, there is more. We relate to an international scholarly and artistic community. We are responsible to communicate our discoveries and add them to a growing body of intellectual and creative work destined for shaping history.

How do you and the Spencer make a positive impact on the Lawrence community?


The Spencer has always been one of the destinations for people coming to Lawrence, but now we are working toward joining our community partners in developing participants rather than audiences for the arts. A participant takes an active role in creating the quality of life. Our more-than-40- year collaboration with Lawrence Public Schools and our Spencer At Large projects that take place in the community provide many points of access and are all part of an overall question in action: How can the Spencer Museum be one of the places in the community and in the world where people can belong locally and globally, question values and assumptions, and explore their lives through art? Our impact should be judged upon how effectively we pose that question. Do we make lives better, more worthwhile, more satisfying?

What would you change about doing business (or working with businesses) in Lawrence?


I would like to be able to frequent every business in Lawrence and have every businessperson frequent the museum— each on our own terms. I grew up in the culture of a small construction company (Reece Construction Co.), and that company was family, and family was the company. Art and business have a key common factor—the value and reward of good work. So maybe some year, I’ll just travel from business to business …

Why did you become involved? What inspires you? Is there a specific thing, person or incident?


My parents took my whole family to Europe when I was 12. That experience changed my life. Seeing the world open through art and then realizing it was not just Europe—art was everywhere. Creativity and expressive work was a path through life. Although I did not know just how, it was then that I knew I wanted to spend my time on a pilgrimage of discovery through art.

What do you see as your personal responsibility and the Spencer’s responsibility to the community?


It begins with paying attention to the overall ecology of the community, learning it—from its natural systems to the plethora of cultural opportunities and the business community. I have had the great pleasure of serving on the Chamber of Commerce Board and the Cultural Planning Committee—both seem like a personal responsibility, both were learning experiences. But for me, the joy comes from less formal responsibilities: visits to artists’ studios, attending poetry readings, kayaking on the river, buying weekly groceries from the farmers’ market, slipping into an art movie downtown. So maybe a personal responsibility is to constantly be in learning mode. At the Spencer, we have been talking about how to be more reflective as we try to learn. I think it is the Spencer’s responsibility to bring the best action and reflection to the community table and learn, always learn.

What is the biggest challenge you feel the Spencer faces?


I think all institutions, and especially those with important historical legacies like the Spencer, face the enormous challenge of balancing contemporary relevance with the tried and true. What should change, what should stay the same? I hope that we can build a system that is as resilient as some of those I see in nature. We will need to adapt and go into workaround mode while we continue to persist with the big ideas. Art has power, and the systems need change to support that fact and continue to provide access to art.

What do you foresee as being the biggest challenge for the future for your industry? And how are you addressing or preparing for it?


There is a set of challenges. How can we become more inclusive to all people? How can we protect and nurture personal freedoms of expression? How can we lead learning and inquiry with our colleagues at KU in a climate of budgetary restraint?

I believe in groups, ensembles, rambunctious teams of people that work on puzzles and opportunities together. I am preparing for the Spencer Museum’s future by trying to attract people who are quietly bold and experimental, who want to live and work with people who bring different perspectives. I respect people who are willing to go out on a limb but go on that lim b with all they have to give. So preparing for the future to me means trying to surround one’s self with creative difference, hard workers and people who think art is one of the ways to a better future. We have to have that hope—a better future.



Share.

88 Comments

  1. I absolutely love your website.. Pleasant colors & theme. Did you develop this amazing site yourself? Please reply back as I’m planning to create my own blog and would love to know where you got this from or just what the theme is named. Thank you.

  2. Woah! I’m really digging the template/theme of this website. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s very difficult to get that “perfect balance” between user friendliness and visual appeal. I must say you’ve done a amazing job with this. Additionally, the blog loads extremely fast for me on Safari. Excellent Blog!

  3. I need to to thank you for this very good read!! I absolutely enjoyed every bit of it. I’ve got you book marked to check out new things you post…

  4. Hello there, I think your blog could be having internet browser compatibility problems. When I take a look at your web site in Safari, it looks fine however, when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping issues. I simply wanted to provide you with a quick heads up! Other than that, great website.

  5. Next time I read a blog, Hopefully it won’t disappoint me as much as this particular one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read through, however I really believed you’d have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you can fix if you were not too busy looking for attention.

  6. I simply couldn’t depart your web site before suggesting that I actually loved the standard info a person supply to your visitors? Is going to be back incessantly to check up on new posts

  7. Thanks for every other excellent article. Where else may anybody get that type of info in such a perfect method of writing? I’ve a presentation subsequent week, and I’m at the search for such information.

  8. I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Either way keep up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like this one today..

  9. Thanks , I’ve just been looking for information about this subject for ages and yours is the greatest I’ve discovered so far. But, what about the conclusion? Are you sure about the source?

  10. An interesting discussion is worth comment. There’s no doubt that that you ought to write more about this issue, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people do not talk about these subjects. To the next! Cheers!

  11. great post, very informative. I wonder why the other experts of this sector do not notice this. You should continue your writing. I am sure, you have a great readers’ base already!

  12. I?m impressed, I need to say. Actually rarely do I encounter a blog that?s each educative and entertaining, and let me inform you, you’ve got hit the nail on the head. Your concept is outstanding; the difficulty is one thing that not enough persons are talking intelligently about. I am very completely happy that I stumbled across this in my seek for something relating to this.

  13. Hello there! I could have sworn I’ve visited this web site before but after browsing through some of the articles I realized it’s new to me. Regardless, I’m certainly pleased I found it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back frequently!

  14. This is the right site for anyone who would like to find out about this topic. You realize so much its almost tough to argue with you (not that I personally would want to…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic which has been written about for a long time. Excellent stuff, just great.

  15. You’re so cool! I don’t suppose I have read something like that before. So nice to discover someone with some original thoughts on this subject matter. Seriously.. thanks for starting this up. This site is one thing that’s needed on the internet, someone with a bit of originality.

  16. An impressive share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a colleague who has been doing a little homework on this. And he actually ordered me dinner due to the fact that I found it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending some time to discuss this subject here on your site.

  17. I’m amazed, I have to admit. Seldom do I come across a blog that’s equally educative and interesting, and let me tell you, you’ve hit the nail on the head. The problem is something too few people are speaking intelligently about. I’m very happy that I came across this in my hunt for something relating to this.

  18. Hi there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any problems with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing months of hard work due to no data backup. Do you have any solutions to stop hackers?|

  19. Hi there! This article couldn’t be written much better! Reading through this article reminds me of my previous roommate! He always kept preaching about this. I will send this post to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!

  20. Good day! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after going through some of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Anyhow, I’m certainly pleased I found it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back frequently!

  21. I used to be more than happy to seek out this net-site.I needed to thanks for your time for this excellent learn!! I definitely enjoying each little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to take a look at new stuff you weblog post.

  22. One thing is always that one of the most popular incentives for applying your card is a cash-back or rebate provision. Generally, you’ll have access to 1-5 back for various expenses. Depending on the cards, you may get 1 back again on most buying, and 5 in return on purchases made in convenience stores, gasoline stations, grocery stores along with ‘member merchants’.

  23. I every time used to study piece of writing in news papers but now as I am a user of net so from now I am using net for posts, thanks to web.|

  24. magnificent submit, very informative. I’m wondering why the other experts of this sector don’t notice this. You should continue your writing. I am sure, you’ve a huge readers’ base already!

  25. Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with a few pics to drive the message home a bit, but other than that, this is great blog. A fantastic read. I’ll certainly be back.

  26. We absolutely love your blog and find many of your post’s to be exactly I’m looking for. Does one offer guest writers to write content for you? I wouldn’t mind creating a post or elaborating on some of the subjects you write concerning here. Again, awesome weblog!|

  27. I don?t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was great. I do not know who you are but definitely you are going to a famous blogger if you aren’t already 😉 Cheers!

  28. hello there and thank you to your information ? I?ve definitely picked up something new from right here. I did then again experience several technical points the usage of this website, since I experienced to reload the site a lot of times previous to I could get it to load properly. I were considering if your hosting is OK? Not that I am complaining, but slow loading cases instances will very frequently affect your placement in google and could injury your high-quality rating if ads and ***********|advertising|advertising|advertising and *********** with Adwords. Well I?m adding this RSS to my e-mail and could look out for much extra of your respective intriguing content. Ensure that you replace this once more soon..

  29. Hi! Would you mind if I share your blog with my zynga group? There’s a lot of people that I think would really enjoy your content. Please let me know. Thank you|

  30. Hi, Neat post. There is a problem with your site in internet explorer, would test this? IE still is the market leader and a big portion of people will miss your great writing because of this problem.

  31. I have seen that wise real estate agents just about everywhere are Promotion. They are knowing that it’s not just placing a sign in the front area. It’s really about building relationships with these retailers who one of these days will become consumers. So, if you give your time and efforts to aiding these vendors go it alone — the “Law regarding Reciprocity” kicks in. Good blog post.

  32. Thanks for every other informative web site. Where else could I get that kind of information written in such an ideal manner? I’ve a challenge that I’m just now running on, and I have been on the glance out for such info.

  33. After I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new feedback are added- checkbox and now every time a remark is added I get four emails with the identical comment. Is there any method you possibly can remove me from that service? Thanks!

Leave A Reply