Southampton - Calling the Parrish Art Museum's core values "very much in line with what I believe as a curator," Terrie Sultan, the museum's newly appointed director, described the impending changes at the institution, most notably the construction of a new museum in Water Mill, as "thrilling."

Sultan will take over for the museum's current director of 26 years, Trudy Kramer, who announced her retirement in February 2007, on April 1. The nurturing environment for artists on the East End attracted Sultan to the job. "People value the actual people who make the art," she said. "In many other art communities, it is really more about the objects."

"The general prevailing attitude is a warm recognition that both creative people and their works deserve to be seen," she added.

Formerly the Director of the Blaffer Gallery at the University of Houston, Sultan was credited with spearheading an outreach program that dramatically increased attendance at the museum. She also held curatorships at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and at the New Museum of Contemporary Arts in New York. She has a B.F.A. in Fine Arts from Syracuse University and a M.A. in Museum Studies from the Center for Museum Studies at John F. Kennedy University.

The Parrish's new facility in Water Mill will play an integral role in providing the museum and its collection greater visibility, Sultan said. "Building a destination piece of architecture will help quite a lot. People will come to see what we've created out there," she explained.

The Parrish is in the process of constructing a 64,000 square foot museum complex on 14 acres just off Route 27 in Water Mill. The $70 million dollar expansion, a cluster of buildings intended to evoke an artists' colony, is scheduled to open in 2009. The architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, winners of the Pritzker Prize in 2001, and designers of the Tate Modern in London, have been commissioned for the project. The Parrish is the oldest art museum on Long Island, and a mainstay on Jobs Lane since 1898.

Unlike Any Other
The new museum will be "unlike any other building anywhere in the world, and for that reason the Parrish will take a strong role in discourse about the museum and its role in the community," Sultan contends.

The Parrish's change of venue comes at a time when museums across the country are expanding and moving to new facilities. "I think it is a good time for museums, especially museums that deal with living artists," Sultan said. In her view, museums have become more welcoming places, where patrons can "learn about art in a real way."

The Parrish's project offers an opportunity to work with both artists and the community as a whole, "as stakeholders in the process and their needs and desires are addressed," Sultan explained.

The new modern complex, which is designed to integrate with the farm fields around it, will allow The Parrish to showcase its permanent collection in a manner the Jobs Lane building never could.

"There is a very good core collection in the museum that has not had an opportunity to be fully looked at and explored," Sultan said.

"I'm very interested in learning as much as I can about the Porter and Chase collections," she added. The Parrish has more than 250 works by the American Realist Fairfield Porter and nearly 40 paintings and works on paper by William Merritt Chase, in addition to 1,000 photographs relating to the artist, who spent summers on the East End.

Showcasing Local Artists
As for works by local artists, Sultan would like to add to the collection. "I'm not touching that with a ten foot pole," she said, with a laugh. The diversity of artists in the area gives Sultan a opportunity to tap into a variety of art styles while remaining local. "The nice thing about East End artists is that they are really from everywhere," she noted.

The Parrish's current collection of works by living artists include Chuck Close, Elizabeth Payton, John Chamberlain, and April Gornick. The group of artists currently living and working on the East End give "a very strong picture of what is going on in the creative minds of people," Sultan commented.

Sultan also promised the younger generation of artists will not go unnoticed as the Parrish grows. "I'm a contemporary curator," she said. "One of the things that interests me a lot is showing young artists and giving them an opportunity to develop."

The move to steward The Parrish is a natural extension of Sultan's curating career. Familiarity with the area's contemporary art community is more than a professional affinity. Her brother, Donald Sultan, a renowned American painter and print maker, is a weekend resident of Sag Harbor.

"I'm close friends with a lot of artists in the area, and in a funny way it feels like I'm coming home," she said.