Two leaders with ties to the Nasher Sculpture Center will help Dallas Contemporary plan for the future.
The kunsthalle, or non-collecting arts space, is embarking on a multi-year planning period, and it’s bringing in two museum executives with decades of experience to manage the process.
John McBride, the Nasher’s current deputy director of finance and operations, will join the Contemporary as interim executive director and chief operating officer. He’ll be joined by former Nasher director Jeremy Strick, as a strategic advisor.
Rod Sager, co-president of the board said he is excited to have both McBride and Strick on board as the museum nears its 50th anniversary. He is hopeful for what their leadership can offer at this moment.
“The world, the ecosystem and museum executive directors are a bit in flux, not only in Dallas, but across the country, so rather than taking a short-term interim position and then our board initiating a search for a permanent director, we thought we'd slow down, take a few breaths,” Sager said.
The interim arrangement was mutual, Sager said, though it could evolve into a permanent position.
“At a moment when the voices of contemporary artists are more urgent and necessary than ever, I am honored to join DC and look forward to working alongside the board and staff to lay the groundwork for this institution to thrive,” McBride said in a statement.
Over the past 18 years McBride helped the Nasher map out its long-term financial and operational strategies as well as budgeting and auditing processes. He also helped shepherd the museum through the transition period between Strick’s retirement and the hiring of Carlos Basualdo as the museum’s new director.
Before leaving the Nasher in 2024, Strick increased the museum’s fundraising and nearly doubled its permanent collection. He also established the Nasher Art Prize, an international juried award for contemporary sculptors.
At the Contemporary, Strick will help with board development and recruitment, curatorial programs and donor cultivation.
Both men will start June 15.
McBride will take over the role previously held by Lucia Simek.
Simek joined the museum as its deputy director in 2022 and was promoted to interim director in July 2024. In February 2025, she was named executive director. The museum announced her plan to focus on her art practice in December last year.
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