The Speed Art Museum’s New Director Has a Louisville Love Story
Thirty years after discovering her passion for museum leadership at Louisville's Speed Art Museum, Kathleen V. Jameson is back! Get to know the woman behind the art. Image: Alex Brumley
Kathleen V. Jameson, freshly appointed director of the Speed Art Museum, is still unpacking moving boxes, but she’s no Louisville newbie. Philadelphia-born and Texas-raised, she earned her master’s degree in art history at UofL and discovered her passion for museum leadership at the Speed. Thirty years later, she’s back, this time with her dog, Cricket, and a formidable résumé in some of the nation’s leading art museums under her belt.
What was your first impression of Louisville?
Back when I came here for graduate school, I was blown away by the architecture. I still am. Much of my work is post-Civil War to early 20th-century American art and architecture, anchored by the turn of the century, and Louisville has such amazing examples of that time period.
This time around, I’m in awe of the growth and change. Louisville feels so familiar to me, but at the same time, so much of it feels new and fresh.
What made you return to Louisville and the Speed Art Museum?
I interned with then-director Peter Morrin, and that’s where I caught the ‘director bug.’ From that moment on, everywhere I went to work, I would pester the director to learn more. So I feel very strongly about the Speed. It’s very personal for me.
Earlier this year, a former colleague brought up that the Speed was searching for new leadership. I started searching for more information about the role, but I wasn’t seeing anything. So, I did something a little unusual. I called the director’s office and left a voicemail. Fortunately, it was forwarded to the right folks. I was beyond elated. I owe my career to the Speed, and I’m so glad to be back.
What are your goals for your first year in this role?
Our centennial is next year, and the entire calendar year will be celebrating our founding. We’ll be doing some looking back, but we also see it as an opportunity to look forward. We have some really wonderful plans coming up across programs, exhibitions, conservation, scholarship — all of it. It’s a great framework to help us prioritize who we want to be.
I’m also committed to increasing accessibility. I want people to be able to come and go. That kind of freedom encourages a different relationship with art and the museum.
When did you know you wanted to work in the arts?
I grew up around art collectors. My grandparents collected American Art, which became my focus. I was always awestruck running around in their house, like I was playing in this fantastical, magical place. It’s like that book, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
Years ago, the American Association of Museums had its annual conference in my hometown of Philadelphia, so I asked my mom to be my date to one of the events. I had this moment, walking up the “Rocky” steps [the steps in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art featured in Rocky], and I was overwhelmed by the memory of being a little girl and walking into this magical place.
I always knew I wanted to be in a museum. I’ve worked in almost every area of a museum, but always with an eye on wanting to lead one.
What art do you have in your own home?
Nothing yet, because it’s all in storage. But when I get settled, I have a lot of photography to hang. Photography has been central to my scholarship and what I focused my dissertation on. One of my favorites is a self-portrait by Frances Benjamin Johnston, a photojournalist in the late-19th-early 20th century. She took it in her studio, smoking a cigar and holding a beer stein. I was so interested in how she was making her own identity.
I also have a large collection of Japanese prints, which were also collected by my father.
What’s your favorite way to spend an afternoon?
Anything with my daughter, Bella. She’s my best friend. Anywhere. Any time of day. She just finished her master’s in social work from the University of Pittsburgh. We both started our dream jobs at the same time. I’m so proud of her.
If you weren’t in this role, what would you be doing?
I think I missed my calling as a food critic. It runs in my family — everywhere we go to eat, there is a very detailed discussion of what we are eating, the restaurant experience in general, and then, of course, we have to discuss what we are going to eat next.
But I also could have seen a life in social justice. I want to be a justice warrior for women and girls. I support a group in Texas called DNA Solves, which uses DNA samples to solve cold cases, many of which, unfortunately, include unidentified women and girls. I’ve also been really lucky to be able to prioritize a commitment to representing women in museums I lead by exhibiting and bringing awareness to them.
I want people to understand the impact of women being largely excluded from the canon [a general term for the accepted understanding of great masterpieces and artists in history]. It’s very important to me to advance opportunity and ensure safety for women and girls.
Louisville is a great place to be a foodie! What’s on your list to try?
So many places! My daughter wants to try 610 Magnolia when she visits. I just ate at The Café and loved it. I thought I had tried just about everything, but I’d never had Benedictine spread before! Meesh Meesh is on the list, but I think it’s on everyone’s list. I’ll have to plan ahead for that one.
Where do you go to get inspired?
If I’m traveling, there are always two things on my list: to go outside and to go to a museum. I think we all have certain works of art that we really love and identify with. I like to visit them and check in to see how they’re doing.
What is something people are surprised to learn about you?
I’m a huge basketball fan. The 76ers are my team. I even enrolled my dog in the Jr. 76ers Kids Club so I could get the swag.
What’s your best piece of advice?
‘It’s never too late to be who you might have been.” It’s attributed to George Eliot. I take great heart in that. You can constantly evolve. You aren’t stuck in any one place or time. I don’t think it’s worthwhile to spend time in regret, but rather in possibility.
LIGHTNING ROUND
What three things are always on your grocery list? Sparkling water, dog treats, and hot sauce. I’m partial to Crystal, but I also like Cholula.
What’s on your nightstand? A notepad and lots and lots of pens.
Last great book you read? The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore. It’s about women in the early 20th century who were hired to paint watch faces using radium and suffered the devastating effects of radium poisoning. It’s a very tough book. But these women were so brave. So much of our food safety practices are because of these women.
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Beth Clayton
For over 20 years, Beth Clayton has either been working in a newsroom or pitching one. A natural storyteller and word nerd from the moment she could pick up a pencil, she earned her journalism degree from Butler University and spent the next decade as a writer, reporter, and editor. She now lives in Louisville, KY with her husband, three kids, and a very bad dog, and loves immersing herself in old lady hobbies such as houseplants and macrame.
