YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – In the six weeks since she took the helm of The Butler Institute of American Art, Anastasia James has been familiarizing herself with the museum’s collection and the city itself.
James came aboard as executive director on July 13, becoming the fourth person to lead the institute that opened in 1919. The Pittsburgh native, her husband and their 9-year-old son are settling into the Mahoning Valley.
Her prior position was director of galleries and public art at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, where she managed several exhibition spaces and a major public art program.
James has worked at museums across the country, including the Andy Warhol in Pittsburgh, the Queens Museum in New York, the Lucas Museum of Art in Los Angeles and the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte, N.C.
Her scholarly and curatorial work is well-suited to The Butler. It focused on American art, particularly that of the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as art education and access, and the relationship between art and democratic life.
She and her family are eager to become familiar with the Youngstown area and its people. “If you see us out and about, please don’t hesitate to say hello,” she says. “We look forward to meeting you, hearing your stories and becoming part of the community.”
To introduce herself, James shared her thoughts in this question and answer exchange:
QUESTION: What are your thoughts on The Butler’s collection? Are there any pieces that intrigue you, or that you want to put on display soon?
ANSWER: The Butler has an extraordinary collection, both in its quality and its breadth. What I find particularly compelling is its ability to tell an expansive story of American art, not simply through the most familiar names and movements, but through the many voices, experiences, regions and ideas that have shaped American culture and the culture of the Youngstown region.
I am still getting to know the collection, which is one of the great privileges of this job. Every time I spend time in the galleries or the vaults, I discover something new, and every single day I fall in love with a different work of art.
There are many works I am eager to see back on view, particularly those that can help us tell a richer and more complete story of American art, one that reflects the breadth of the American experience and gives more visitors an opportunity to see themselves, their histories and their experiences reflected in the collection. I want our visitors to experience that same sense of discovery and connection.
Q: How will you continue The Butler’s ability to acquire art pieces that tell the story of American art?
A: The Butler’s collection is the foundation upon which everything else rests, so thoughtful and purposeful collecting must remain central to our future.
I believe acquisitions should be strategic. We need to understand where the collection is strongest, where there are meaningful gaps and where we have opportunities to broaden the story of American art that we can tell. That means looking not only at individual works, but at how each work contributes to the intellectual and historical coherence of the collection.
Q: The Butler sometimes looks to regional artists for exhibitions. How will you continue its connection to the local community?
A: The Butler’s relationship with Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley is fundamental to who we are. We are a national museum, but we are also Youngstown’s museum, and I believe those identities should strengthen rather than compete with one another.
I want the Butler to be a place where regional artists, educators, students, collectors and cultural organizations feel that they have a genuine stake. At the same time, I want to use our national stature to elevate artists from this region and bring their work to audiences beyond Youngstown.
A great museum should be in conversation with the community around it while also bringing the wider world into that community. Art can become part of the life of a city – not simply something people come to see, but something they encounter, discuss and experience as part of their everyday lives.
Q: In what new ways would you show the museum’s pieces to the public, donors or societies? Are there programs you would like to add, or other public places you would like to use as galleries?
A: I would like us to think expansively about what it means to encounter the collection. The traditional gallery experience remains essential, but there are many other ways to invite people into a deeper relationship with the Butler.
We also have an incredible staff of passionate and dedicated individuals, and the success of this museum is due in large part to their commitment. My role is to support that expertise, give our staff the resources and opportunities they need to thrive and create an environment where their ideas can help shape the future of the institution.
That could include collection-based programs, conversations with artists and scholars, even more family programming, lectures, performances, social events and opportunities for donors and members to experience the collection in more personal and meaningful ways.
I am also interested in bringing The Butler into more spaces throughout the community. The collection belongs, in a very real sense, to the public. I want people to feel that the Butler is part of their lives, not simply somewhere they visit occasionally, but a place that continually offers opportunities for learning, connection and discovery.
Q: You mentioned at a recent Rotary Club meeting that your mother brought you to The Butler when you were a child. What made her drive you to Youngstown to see this museum? Does your family have a love for visual art?
A: My mother is my hero, and she has had an enormous influence on who I am and the life I have chosen.
From a very young age, she took me to museums, libraries, historic places and cultural institutions. She instilled in me a sense that these spaces belonged to me, that I had every right to walk through their doors, ask questions, look closely and learn. She gave me a deep sense of curiosity and taught me that there is always more to discover.
I don’t come from a family of museum professionals or art historians, but there was a profound respect for learning and exploration in our home. My mother understood the value of exposing me to art and ideas, even if she couldn’t have known where that would eventually lead me.
From a very young age, I knew I wanted to work in museums. I loved the sense of discovery, history and possibility I found in those spaces. In many ways, the Butler represents the very thing my mother taught me: that museums should make you feel that you belong, while also reminding you that there is always more to learn.
Q: Do you have a favorite type of art, or genre?
A: I have never wanted to limit myself to one school, period or medium. However, I believe strongly in breaking down some of the historical distinctions between what has been deemed “fine art” and what has been considered popular or commercial art.
My experience working for George Lucas and engaging deeply with his collection reinforced that for me. It taught me a great deal about how fine art, illustration, popular culture, film, design and visual storytelling can inform and enrich one another.
More broadly, I believe art is one of the great common languages. It can allow us to recognize something of ourselves in another person’s experience, even when that experience comes from a different time, place or culture.
That is particularly important in a democracy. Museums can create spaces where people encounter ideas and perspectives different from their own, and where curiosity and conversation can take the place of division.
What I respond to most strongly is art that continues to reveal something over time – work that rewards looking, questioning and returning to it. The best art doesn’t simply give you an answer; it makes you curious, lights a spark in your imagination and makes you look at the world in a new and exciting way.
Q: How and when did you decide to pursue a career in the art world? Was becoming a museum director always one of your goals?
A: I began volunteering at museums at a very young age, and by the time I finished high school, I already knew that I wanted to be a curator.
My first formal museum position was 20 years ago in the archives department at the Andy Warhol Museum, where I worked as an assistant to the late chief archivist, Matt Wrbican. I am profoundly indebted to Matt. He recognized my tenacity and intellectual curiosity at a young age and, perhaps most importantly, showed me that there was a place for me in museums. His mentorship had an enormous impact on the trajectory of my career. I went on to pursue degrees in art history and curatorial studies, and I have been extraordinarily fortunate to build a career working alongside some of the most remarkable cultural leaders and artists of our time.
Leadership was a natural progression, although it was not something I necessarily envisioned for myself when I was young. I grew up at a time when girls were not always encouraged to see themselves as leaders, and I was fortunate to have a strong role model in my mother and in the women who surrounded her.
Q: Do you have any long-term goals for The Butler? Perhaps a new building or gallery or a change in its layout? Or a type of artist or genre you’d like to bring in?
A: As only the fourth executive director of The Butler, my long-term vision is about building upon the remarkable foundation established long before I arrived. Dr. Lou Zona and the directors who came before him, including Joseph Butler III and Margaret Evans, each contributed to the institution we have today, and I feel a real responsibility to honor that history while helping the Butler evolve for the next generation.
I find it particularly remarkable that the Butler’s very first director was a woman. That is an important and often overlooked part of our history and something we should be incredibly proud of.
One of my greatest priorities is strengthening our educational programming and reconnecting it to The Butler’s original intention as an institute of learning. The museum was founded not simply as a place to house beautiful objects, but as a place where people could learn, encounter ideas, and develop an understanding of American art and culture. I want to deepen that mission, building on the excellent work already being done by our director of education, Joyce Mistovich, and her department.
I also want us to recontextualize the collection for contemporary audiences. Each generation brings new questions to works of art, and our responsibility is to create the interpretive and educational frameworks that allow those works to continue to speak to people.
Pictured at top: Anastasia James stands by the collage “Mars at Angles” by Sam Gilliam inside the museum.
