Museum congratulates him on new role as Director of Portland Art Museum
OKLAHOMA CITY (August 11, 2026) — The Oklahoma City Museum of Art (OKCMOA) announced today the departure of President & CEO Michael Anderson, PhD. This fall, Anderson will transition into his new role as the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Director of the Portland Art Museum (PAM) in Portland, Oregon.
Anderson, who has been with OKCMOA since 2014, was appointed Interim President and CEO in July 2019 and named President and CEO in January 2020. In his time at the Museum, Anderson has led the organization through a period of sustained growth and, most recently, through its successful reaccreditation by the American Alliance of Museums.
Through Anderson’s leadership, the Museum has also seen significant accessibility initiatives implemented, including bilingual text throughout the galleries and free admission for children 17 and under. Likewise, the expansion of its permanent collection by 30% through major acquisitions and gifts during his time, continues to increase the artists, movements, and mediums visitors encounter in the galleries each day.
Before becoming President & CEO, Anderson served as the Museum’s Director of Curatorial Affairs and Film Curator. Among the exhibitions he curated or coordinated are Matisse in His Time: Masterworks of Modernism from the Centre Pompidou, Paris (2016), The Complete WPA Collection: 75th Anniversary (2017), and Kiarostami: Beyond the Frame (2022), as well as reinterpretation of the Museum’s permanent collection. Anderson also helped to elevate the Museum Film program, bringing the best in independent, foreign-language, and classic cinema to Oklahoma City and engaging directly with OKC’s burgeoning film community through OKCMOA’s Film Society.
“It has truly been an honor to come up through this Museum and to have worked alongside such a dedicated, passionate staff,” said Anderson. “I have the utmost confidence that the Museum will continue to thrive, and I look forward to seeing what it continues to become for the community it serves.”
Anderson earned his PhD in History of Art and Film Studies at Yale University in 2013 and a Master of Arts in Cinema Studies from New York University, among other degrees.
At PAM, Anderson will lead the institution into a new era following the recent completion of a reimagined and expanded campus of one of the oldest art museums in the country. He will remain in his position at OKCMOA through October 2, the date of the 50th Annual Renaissance Ball, an appropriate event to celebrate the legacy he’s been part of for over a decade and a future he’s helped secure. Anderson will begin his new role at PAM on October 12. Interim leadership at OKCMOA will be announced in the coming weeks.
