MWPAI names Anthony Spiridigloizzi president

The Utica OD reported that Anthony Spiridigloizzi is the newly appointed president of Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute.

“I feel very, very positive about our future here,” he said Tuesday, despite the gloomy weather outside his corner office. “I see it every day looking out this window. I see people coming through this back door and enjoying what we have to offer. It’s about connecting people with art.”

With that in mind, he said, his main goals for MWPAI include improving the visitor experience at the institute’s Museum of Art and strengthening the bonds between the community and the institute as a whole, including its school of art and performing arts program.

Projects under consideration for the future include creating a more welcoming rear entrance for the museum – since 95 percent of visitors come in through the parking lot doors instead of the main entrance on Genesee Street – adding a café, and expanding social events such as docent-led tours and art receptions.

“We want to really create a welcoming environment … to focus on the visitor, provide some better visitor services and additional visitor services” Spiridigloizzi said.

The institute also will continue cultivating its PrattMWP college program, which currently enrolls 100 new students each year, he said.

Moving forward will require an increased focus on fundraising.

“Our challenges, like many nonprofit organizations, particularly cultural organizations, are financial,” Spiridigloizzi said. “This economic environment has really hurt a number of organizations. The institute is stable, but it needs to build a base of support in this community … out of that will come really a much more vibrant, exciting institution.”

Spiridigloizzi started at MWPAI as treasurer in 1982, having previously served as comptroller for the local United Way. After adding vice president of operations to his title in the 1990s, he served as “second in command” under former institute presidents Milton Bloch and Daniel O’Leary, and as acting president after each man’s departure.

He was appointed president by the institute’s board of trustees on Dec. 20, although the decision wasn’t made public until Tuesday.

In a release, MWPAI board Chairman William Locke said Spiridigloizzi’s 29 years of service and dedication were one of the assets that led to his appointment.

“Tony has worked tirelessly to advance the mission of MWPAI and has a clear vision for its future,” Locke said. “I am proud to announce that the decision was easy and unanimous.”

Spiridigloizzi, for his part, said he was “very honored and very excited” to be appointed on a permanent basis. It has not yet been decided how his previous position will be filled.

Unlike O’Leary, who resigned in January 2010 after less than two years as head of the institute, Spiridgloizzi is a native of Oneida County with strong ties to the community. He graduated from Thomas R. Proctor High School in 1969 and Utica College in 1973.

The New Hartford resident said he recognizes that MWPAI has a role to play both here at home and in the national arts scene.

“I think we can serve both,” he said. “We can be community-minded as well as advance the reputation of this museum across the country, and that’s good for the community as well.”

Recent exhibits have been successful at spurring attendance, with more than 14,000 people viewing the “Wedded Perfection” dress exhibit this summer, and more than 7,000 visiting the “Ansel Adams: Masterworks” collection.

Spiridigloizzi said he hopes to “continue the progress we’ve made over the past year” with a diverse array of exhibits in 2012 and beyond. “LitGraphic,” an exhibition of art from graphic novels opening in March, is just one example of what’s to come.

“I think there’ll be a blend, a mix of exhibitions – some that are broad and popular in appeal, but always, always maintaining the quality we’ve been known for,” he said.