Another major Cincinnati arts institution has announced the departure of its director: Raphaela Platow, the Contemporary Arts Center's Alice & Harris Weston Director, will be stepping down from her role effective July 9 to take a new position as the director of the Speed Art Museum in Louisville.
(Earlier this year, the Cincinnati Ballet announced Artistic Director Victoria Morgan would conclude her tenure at the end of the 2021-22 season.)
Platow has been with the CAC for 14 years, after she relocated from her role as senior curator at the Rose Art Museum in Massachusetts
“It was my privilege to help shape the vision and program for the CAC over the last 14 years,” said Platow in a release. “I am extremely grateful to my colleagues and our board for their support, and I’m so proud of everything we’ve accomplished to make the CAC a creative beacon for our community. I am excited for new leadership to take the CAC forward and write its next chapter.”
CAC Deputy Director and Chief Business Officer Marcus Margerum will serve as interim director.
In a 2007 feature on Platow — when the then-34-year-old accepted her position as director of the CAC — CityBeat contributor Laura James wrote:
Platow is aware that some feel there is a block between the center and its audience, the people of Cincinnati.
"There are always accessibility issues for institutions," Platow says. "It's not just contemporary art centers. ... (But everyone) can relate to one or two things everywhere. We just have to put the tools and bridges in place."
Her first step in bridging the gap between the center and the city at large?
"The lobby," she says. "I want to put in place what the architect envisioned (when she designed the building)."
Platow sees the lobby as a place where people can sit with a cup of coffee, read the paper and enjoy the space. Her thinking is European in that sense: beautiful buildings with public piazzas for everyone to enjoy.
"I want to bring people in the right way," Platow says. No "cookie-cutter" exhibitions allowed.
"Contemporary art deals with the world around us," she continues. "It's related to so many different subjects ... you don't have to know everything about its history and social meaning to relate to it. People need to learn to trust their own emotions, to trust their own eyes."
At that time the CAC had been embroiled in controversy surrounding the board and the apparent hostility it had for its directors and senior curators after Director Linda Shearer and Curator Toby Kamps departed.
But during her time with the CAC, Platow delivered on her early visions by both renovating the lobby of the Zaha Hadid-designed building, which now houses the local Ferrari brothers' modern lunchtime cafe Fausto, and overseeing the organization's transition to free admission in 2016, as well as the revamping of the family-friendly interactive UnMuseum.
"Platow has transformed the CAC into a vibrant, inclusive cultural hub, increasing annual attendance more than fourfold," says the museum in a release.
She curated exhibits by Robert Colescott, Ugo Rondinone, Keith Haring and Maria Lassnig, and brought shows by the likes of Do Ho Suh, Swoon and Pia Camil to the CAC. She also worked with Director of Performance Drew Klein to launch the This Time Tomorrow performing arts festival.
The CAC also notes that she helped spearhead digital and virtual engagement during the pandemic, including the creation of art kits and youth programs.
“We are incredibly grateful to Raphaela for 14 amazing years at the helm of the CAC, which has thrived under her leadership,” said Gale Beckett, President of the Board of Trustees at the CAC. “Her numerous contributions include extraordinary exhibitions and performance initiatives, creative learning programs for all ages, and of course the crucial role she played in paving the path for free admission for all. While we are sad to see Raphaela leave the CAC, we are very excited about her new position at the Speed Museum. We wish her all the best and look forward to future opportunities for collaboration between our organizations.”
The Speed Art Museum posted about Platow on its Facebook page, saying she will begin her role on Aug. 30 of this year.
