New executive director presents museum plans; $1 million endowment highlighted

Jason Edward Hayden, the new executive director of the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, addressed the Owensboro City Commission in Jan. 2025 to thank the city for longstanding support and to outline the museum’s collections and outreach plans.

Hayden said the museum’s permanent collection has grown to nearly 4,000 works and emphasized the institution’s regional role. He noted a recent $1,000,000 endowment from Dr. R. Waffen Medley Jr. and his late wife, Jeanette Napier Medley, and the renaming of the connected historic house wing as the Medley Decker Arts Wing. "We take that very seriously," Hayden said of holding the permanent collection in trust for the region.

Hayden described a program expansion that includes a dedicated children’s studio (the Michael Ehorn Family Foundation's Artland), an interactive digital gallery (Kaleidoscope Cave), and the Young at Art Gallery for student exhibitions. He also announced Rebecca Stowen as the museum’s new director of education and Colin Davis as assistant development officer, saying both staff members bring new perspectives for outreach and partnerships.

The presentation credited the city’s partnership in creating and maintaining a municipal public art collection and praised past civic support for the museum’s building and programs. Hayden reviewed the museum’s history, recent physical expansions and its Ryan Sculpture Park, and urged commissioners and residents to visit the galleries and educational spaces.

The museum’s priorities cited in the presentation are preserving the permanent collection, expanding educational outreach across elementary and secondary schools, and sustaining the municipal public art program in cooperation with Owensboro Health and the city. No funding request or formal action was taken during the commission meeting; Hayden’s remarks were presented as a community update.