PHOTO: Katie Ziglar

Ackland Art Museum Director Katie Ziglar was appointed in April 2016. Prior to working at the Ackland, she worked with museums such as The Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Clark Art Institute and The Freer and Sackler Galleries of The Smithsonian. Contributing editor Karen Stahl spoke with Ziglar about community involvement and interaction at the museum since starting in July 2016.

Karen Stahl: Your current position at the Ackland is definitely not your first experience working in an art museum. Can you tell me a little bit about your personal background?

Katie Ziglar: I started around 1986. My first job after graduate school doing an M.A. was at the National Gallery of Art. And essentially I have been at four other museums since that time up to now. So it’s been — I hate to say it — it’s been more than 30 years, basically an unbroken chain.

KS: Since your appointment, what collection or installation would you say you’ve been most proud to have at the Ackland?

KZ: Well, I think the greatest thing that’s happened to us has been the gift of the Peck Collection. It’s 134 Dutch and Flemish drawings from the 17th and 18th centuries, including seven drawings by Rembrandt. (And it has) the last drawing by Rembrandt that was in private hands that has his handwriting on it. There’s only one other university art museum that has a Rembrandt in it, and we now have seven.

KS: And you said that was a gift?

KZ: Yes, so Sheldon Peck is a long-time board member of the Ackland, National Advisory Board member and a very dedicated collector, and he called to say that he and his wife had been making a decision about what to do with their collection. They had lots of opportunities and invitations to give it elsewhere, and they decided that in this age where art can be seen from anywhere in the world — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week — through the internet, they decided to give their collection to the place where it would have the most impact.

KS: Speaking of impact, “Los Trompos” was so well-received (and extended to Oct. 1 by popular demand). Are there any more plans for interactive installations in the works?

KZ: We’re going to keep using that outdoor space in front between the sidewalk and our front door as an outdoor gallery. We’ll have a series of things out there — (replacing “Los Trompos”) is an installation by a UNC M.F.A graduate, Patrick Dougherty, who does stick work. He creates beautiful ensembles out of the strangest and most imperceptible way with sticks. His pieces often have an interactive aspect to them. They have doorways or archways that invite you to go through and wind around in and out of his construct.

KS: It seems like you’re focused on inviting the community into the museum and having them interact with the art, how important is it for you to have this kind of public engagement?

KZ: It’s tremendously important. We are teaching here, through our academic programs, 10-and-a-half-thousand UNC undergraduate and graduate students a year, which is a phenomenally high number. I think only one other college or university in the nation has numbers in that stratosphere. So we are really knocking the ball out of the park in terms of academic engagement … Another thing we’re doing right now is we’re in the midst of moving the Ackland store from East Franklin Street into the museum. It’s going to be in a smaller space, but we feel that it’s worth it to give up some of the space in order to have the interactivity that having the store in the museum will bring.

KS: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

KZ: We look forward to adding more art to the collections. We have a very exciting announcement coming up the day that the campaign for the University launches publicly on Oct. 6. And we hope that’s just the beginning of a continuation of adding to the collections, which we think is really important.

The Ackland Art Museum is located at 101 S. Columbia St. and offers free admission Wednesdays through Sundays.

@KarenPStahl