Daniel Schulman loves visiting Jewish museums, and he’s visited several in Europe.
“I love Jewish museums because I learn so much from them,” he said. “There’s so many different ways of doing programming, and of defining a museum as a Jewish museum. I think what’s so great about them is how diverse they are, how they can tell different stories about their local communities and local experiences.”
Schulman, the new executive director of Jewish Museum Milwaukee, brings not just management experience from cultural institutions, but also a love of art, artists, history and, of course, museums. Schulman started as executive director of Jewish Museum Milwaukee on May 20, after Patti Sherman-Cisler retired from the role, having served for 9 years.
Schulman is trained in art history and has worked as both a curator and program director for different organizations in Chicago. He previously held positions at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. He holds a bachelor of arts in the history of art from Columbia University and a master of arts from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University.
“I think one of the things I’d love to do with the program here is to be more inclusive of contemporary artists,” he said. Contemporary art can be created to address current issues and to work well with a space, he said.
Schulman is impressed with Jewish Museum Milwaukee’s airy atrium space and with the rest of the building that houses the museum, on Prospect Avenue in Milwaukee. He looks forward to showcasing art that “responds to the significance of the space and the building.”
He likes that museums are somewhat unstructured, that they can be used for creativity and discovery.
Schulman is aware that the museum speaks to different audiences – both to Milwaukee Jews and to the larger community. “I think it’s important for both the Jewish community and the diverse community that makes up Milwaukee to get to know each other and each other’s stories better and see themselves reflected and the challenges that other communities face,” he said.
Schulman loves nature and the outdoors and said he finds Wisconsin to be full of extraordinary beauty and history. He and his wife go to Door County every summer, and to a small family cottage on the Wisconsin River.
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