WASHINGTON, DC.- The Phillips Collection announced the gift of $5.29 million to endow the directorship of the museum in the name of George and Trish Vradenburg. This is the first endowed position at The Phillips Collection and is made possible by generous grants and gifts from multiple donors and trustees, including the Vradenburg Foundation.
The directorship is endowed in honor of George and the late Trish Vradenburg. Mr. Vradenburg was elected as a Trustee in 2001 and served as Chairman of the Board from 2002-2016. In 2016, he became Honorary Chairman and Trustee Emeritus. Dr. Dorothy Kosinski will now be the Vradenburg Director and CEO of The Phillips Collection. This comes in time for Dr. Kosinski’s celebration of 10 years as director of the Phillips and as the museum approaches its centennial in 2021.
“This endowment is another example of our donors’ phenomenal support of the Phillips,” said Phillips Director and CEO Dorothy Kosinski. “George and Trish pioneered several outstanding initiatives over the last few years and we are thrilled to honor them with this endowment. We will continue to embody their principles as leaders of transformative projects in the museum world as we approach our centennial.”
During her tenure as Director of The Phillips Collection, Dr. Kosinski has led the museum into valuable partnerships with the University of Maryland in College Park and the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) in Southeast DC. She created Intersections, a contemporary art exhibition series, and grew the museum’s collection of photographs to over 1,000 works. Additionally, under her stewardship the museum has actively sought to broaden the subject matter of its exhibitions to align with pressing issues of the day and highlight artworks made by women, artists of color, and other underrepresented groups. Most recently, she spearheaded an institution wide diversity and inclusion initiative, which included hiring a senior-level Chief Diversity Officer, as well as providing paid internships and fellowships to eliminate barriers to entry into museum careers.
