Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, today announced the appointment of Catherine Carver Dunn as Deputy Director, Advancement. In this new position, Dunn will be responsible for directing the major forthcoming capital campaign; planning, managing, and implementing of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation’s global individual-development program; and organizing special events. Dunn begins July 1.
At the same time, Armstrong announced the internal promotion of John L. Wielk to Deputy Director, Corporate and Institutional Development, effective immediately. Wielk joined the Guggenheim in 2006 as Executive Director of Corporate and Institutional Development, the chief development officer responsible for the museum’s global corporate, foundation, and government fund-raising to support the full range of museum operations.
“I am extremely pleased to welcome Catherine Dunn to the Guggenheim,” Armstrong said. “Having led the external affairs effort at the New York Public Library for over twenty years, she brings profound experience to this newly created position. Working together with our strong board and management, as well as our superb staff, Catherine will play a key role in maximizing support for the foundation’s mission and vision.”
“I also look forward to continue working with John Wielk,” said Armstrong, “to build on his distinguished record over the past five years in attaining significant corporate, foundation, and government funding in support of the Guggenheim’s core mission. His expertise in negotiating major international collaborations and securing vital grants will continue to serve the institution’s ambitious objectives.”
Both positions join the Guggenheim’s Executive Cabinet, report to Armstrong, and work with trustees and staff to realize the foundation’s goals.
Before joining the Guggenheim, Dunn was Senior Vice President for External Affairs at the New York Public Library, which she joined in 1988. At the library she directed all private and public fund-raising along with government relations, community affairs, communications, and marketing. Prior to the New York Public Library, Dunn worked in a variety of positions for city, state, and federal governments including Assistant Director of Intergovernmental Relations at the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation, Legislative Representative for the County of Los Angeles in Washington. D.C., and Special Assistant to the Deputy Under Secretary of Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dunn received a B.S. from the University of South Dakota.
Wielk’s previous museum experience includes several fund-raising positions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, from 1983 to 1997, including Associate Director of Development and Membership; Manager of Exhibition and Project Funding; and Grants Officer. Immediately prior to his tenure at the Guggenheim, Wielk was Director of Development, Administration and Information Services for the Professional Standards Review Council of America, a medical services consulting firm, from 1997 to 2006. He received a B.A. in art history and computer science from Columbia College, Columbia University, and pursued an M.A. program in 20th-century art and architecture at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.
About the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
Founded in 1937, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of art, primarily of the modern and contemporary periods, through exhibitions, education programs, research initiatives, and publications. Currently the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation owns and operates the Guggenheim Museum on Fifth Avenue in New York and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection on the Grand Canal in Venice, and provides programming and management for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. The Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin is the result of a collaboration, begun in 1997, between the Guggenheim Foundation and Deutsche Bank. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, a museum of modern and contemporary art designed by Frank Gehry, will open on Saadiyat Island, adjacent to the main island of Abu Dhabi city, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. More information about the foundation can be found at guggenheim.org
