Michael J. Anderson, seen in a provided image, will lead the Portland Art Museum as its new director beginning Oct. 12, 2026.
Courtesy of the Portland Art Museum
Michael J. Anderson, currently president and CEO of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, will soon lead the Portland Art Museum as its new director, PAM announced Tuesday morning. His tenure begins Oct. 12, 2026.
Anderson’s appointment comes after the museum’s previous director of nearly 20 years, Brian Ferriso, left the institution after spearheading the $111 million renovation and expansion of its downtown Portland campus. Ferriso now directs the Dallas Museum of Art.
Hundreds gather for the opening ceremony of the new Mark Rothko Pavillion of the Portland Art Museum in Portland, Ore., on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. The Portland Museum's new $111 million addition connects the former Masonic Temple built in 1927 and the 1932 original museum complex by Pietro Belluschi.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
After Ferriso’s departure, a trio of co-interim directors was appointed to lead the museum while it searched for a new permanent director.
The nine-month search chose Anderson, a former teacher who’s since become an established curator and museum executive. Anderson — who holds a PhD in the history of art and film studies — is also a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors.
“Michael is a thoughtful, disciplined leader who can leverage the Museum’s existing strengths to expand its public impact and help animate every aspect of the program and campus,” Alix Meier Goodman, a museum search committee co-chair, said in a press release Tuesday.
Anderson said he’s eager to begin working with PAM as it enters its post-expansion phase, which he called a “great moment” focused on programming, community partnerships and “making sure that all Oregonians know that this is their museum.”
“I think anybody in my position would be salivating at the prospects of working with this institution,” he said.
Anderson said he wants to strengthen PAM’s connection with local communities at a time when many museums nationwide continue to pull themselves out of a post-pandemic visitation slump. PAM said in its press release that visitor levels have gone up 35% since the campus expansion last fall.
At the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Anderson has focused on broadening access to art by implementing bilingual interpretation in the galleries, giving children free admission and partnering with Indigenous artists in the region. He said he’s eager to work with the curators of the Native American collection when he comes to Portland in the fall.
Anderson said when he comes to Portland, he wants to create “new opportunities for audiences to experience exceptional art, engage with new ideas, and discover the diverse stories reflected in PAM’s collections and exhibitions.”
But he doesn’t plan to lead the museum in a drastically different direction.
“Pacific Northwestern art, Oregon art — that will remain a focus of the museum,” he said.
His first order of business will be to meet with curators to better understand ongoing museum projects.
