A Letter to the Community

It’s been a turbulent season at RAiR in the last few months. The Board of Directors recently reached out to alumni of the RAiR program, now numbering more than 200, and we wanted to share some of our thoughts with the RAiR community, as well.

Hearing from a RAiR “board” might seem funny to some of those who have followed the program for a long time. Don Anderson founded RAiR in 1967 and ran it privately for 35 years before establishing it as a nonprofit in 2002; and for the first ten or so years after the board was created, its job was essentially to sit around Don’s kitchen table and hear Don tell them how he planned to spend his own money. Transitioning into an independent nonprofit, now that Don is not around to write the checks, has had some challenges. We are not a board of wealthy donors; rather, we are a rotating cast of RAiR alumni, Roswell residents, arts professionals, and Anderson family members, united by a passionate belief in this unique organization, and committed to doing our best to keep it flourishing. Professionalizing RAiR has involved some innovations that weren’t part of the picture in Don’s time: these include a fixed annual budget; better salaries and benefits for staff members; insuring the collection; and even our first attempts at fundraising. These are all standard for a nonprofit arts organization, but to some they have seemed alarmingly corporate when applied to RAiR. We can only say that this is the structure Don chose to keep alive his vision and our mission: to support the artists of the residency with the “gift of time,” and maintain the museum devoted to showing their work.

The biggest change this fall has been, of course, the departure of Nancy Fleming, the director of the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art since 2015, the co-director for two years before that, and a significant figure at RAiR in a range of capacities for more than three decades. Nancy’s contributions to RAiR and AMoCA have been immeasurable. Her resignation in November took everyone by surprise; there had been some differences of opinion, but we had thought they were surmountable, and we were shocked and saddened to find that they were not. We’ve heard from a lot of people who are outraged that we didn’t try to keep her: in fact, nobody involved with the organization wanted her to leave, but when she announced she was giving notice, she asked that we not try to change her mind. Nancy will always be part of the RAiR family and legacy; we miss her very much, and we hope and trust that her next chapter will be as wonderful as her years at RAiR have been for us.

We are starting the formal search process to identify a permanent successor. In the meantime, we are delighted to announce the appointment of our interim leadership: Tonee Harbert, our Director of Digital Media since 2021, will be our interim museum director, and Miranda Howe, who has been a fixture at RAiR, alongside Nancy Fleming, for the past ten years, will increase her responsibilities during this period of transition. (See our announcement about Tonee and Miranda here.)

This has been an emotional time for many people involved with RAiR. We have appreciated hearing from those of you that wrote us, even in anger. The silver lining has been seeing how much so many people care about this organization. We are listening to what you’re saying, and trying to correct some of the misinformation that’s been circulating, and doing our best to demonstrate, going forward, our commitment to this institution and to this community.

It is in the nature of visions to grow and develop. Don Anderson certainly never imagined, when he started the residency in 1967, that RAiR would eventually encompass two separate residential compounds and a full-blown museum; but all of us who knew Don knew the delight he took in building new things, and continually adding to things he had already built. It is our hope that this quirky, unique, wonderful place will continue to grow and to thrive, sometimes in unexpected ways, and that all of you will continue to feel it is a resource for you and for our community in the years ahead.

Please continue to let us know your thoughts.

— The RAiR Foundation Board of Directors

Dameron Midgette

Martha Anderson

Anne Midgette

Carolyn Madison

Cymantha Liakos

Sally Anderson

Sarah Anderson

David Anderson

Kyle Armstrong

Catherine de Maria

Aria Finch

Cristina González

Phillis Ideal

Meryl Rosofsky