Halsey Institute’s Mark Sloan to retire
Director’s tenure to end Dec. 31
Long-time Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art Director and Curator Mark Sloan announced Friday he will retire from the position as of Dec. 31, 2020.
Sloan has been a member of the Halsey team since 1994. The public announcement came via email to stakeholders, excerpted here:
The time has come for me to step down as Director & Chief Curator of the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art. I have made the difficult decision to retire as of December 31, 2020.
… I am very proud of the work we have all done together—members, friends, artists, community partners, donors, staff, advisory board members, and faculty colleagues at the College of Charleston. The four words “It takes a village” come to mind. Being the director and chief curator at the Halsey has propelled me into some of the most rewarding and amazing life experiences …
The changes that will be brought about in our culture as a result of the COVID-19 virus are only beginning to be felt. At the time of this writing, we have no sense of the scope of the virus, much less how it will impact our lives in the months and years ahead. The Halsey Institute staff and Advisory Board will endeavor to navigate these uncharted waters with aplomb, but we will need your support … We want to keep admission free, so that our galleries remain a place where the public can have direct experience with the notion of how an artist turns a thought into a thing.
I would like to thank each of you for being in the Halsey Institute’s orbit. It has been a grand adventure so far, and a privilege to serve as the director for Charleston’s contemporary art museum and to watch the concomitant explosion of contemporary arts programming throughout the region over these last two and-a-half decades. It has been thrilling to be a part of that. My wife and I have forged many wonderful friendships here and feel incredibly grateful to have been so warmly embraced by this community…”
No details were announced about the search to replace Sloan.