Hunter elevates Virginia Anne Sharber from interim to permanent executive director

Virginia Anne Sharber is the new executive director of the Hunter Museum of American Art, the first woman to hold that position.

Bill Crowell, bottom left, flies his remote-controlled aircraft over the Hunter Museum of American Art to capture GoPro footage of a friend's wedding.

The Hunter Museum will offer Club Hunter membership (think air-conditioning and indoor plumbing) during the Riverbend Festival.

For the last five months, Virginia Anne Sharber has been interim executive director of The Hunter Museum of American Art. The "interim" was dropped from the title Thursday after she was offered the position by the board of trustees following a nationwide search.

Sharber said it was not a position she pursued or one she would have imagined taking six months ago.

"Absolutely not. I've been involved in different arts organizations and other organizations over the years, but I was not looking," she said. "I said, 'I would be willing to help out,' and the more and more I was here, the more I fell in love with the place. It's been a fun five months, so why quit now?"

Sharber has been involved with several local arts organizations over the years, including serving as chairwoman of the ArtsBuild (then Allied Arts) board, the Holmberg Arts Leadership Institute and the Cultural Cabinet of ArtsBuild (which oversaw the Imagine Chattanooga 2020 cultural planning process).

She said she believes the board tapped her more for her reach into the community than her expertise in art.

"I don't presume to speak for why the selection committee or board did this, but I think they wanted a strategic thinker who could connect the organization to the community and beyond," Sharber said. "The museum has a tremendous staff that already works well. I think this was a community outreach decision."

She was appointed by then-Mayor Bob Corker to lead the Chattanooga Public Art Committee during the development of the 21st Century Waterfront, and now is serving again as chairwoman of the Public Art Committee. Last year, Mayor Andy Berke asked her to be co-leader of the Chattanooga Forward Arts & Culture Task Force.

Sharber practiced commercial real estate law at Miller & Martin, where she was a partner, for 25 years. She also has served on the board of the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera and has led the boards of the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, Memorial Health Care Foundation, Chattanooga Women's Leadership Institute and the Women's Fund of Greater Chattanooga. She has volunteered on the boards of the Baylor School, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy and the Bright School, where she was board chairwoman. She is an active member of the Rotary Club of Chattanooga.

"Virginia Anne will bring leadership, vision and close ties to the community to the role of executive director," said Regina Rose, chairwoman of the museum board. "And we have the fullest confidence that she will serve as an excellent steward of the Hunter Museum's mission as we work to expand its impact and further establish it as a leading arts institution in the southeast and the nation."

Sharber's immediate goals are to get a traveling Monet exhibit opened by Thursday and to reopen the cafe on the campus overlooking the Tennessee River.

"The No. 1 thing we hear from tourists is 'Where is your cafe?'" Sharber said. Mindy B's will provide the food, Sharber said.

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6354.