Yesterday, the Dallas Museum of Art announced the appointment of Brian Ferriso as its next Eugene McDermott Director, with his tenure beginning December 1, 2025. Ferriso arrives from the Portland Art Museum, where he has served as director since 2006 and is completing a comprehensive campus transformation slated to open to the public on November 20, 2025.
“Brian Ferriso is a leader with a proven track record in realizing successful capital campaigns and sustainable organizational growth,” said DMA Board President Gowri Natarajan Sharma, crediting his “ambitious vision” and community-forward approach as key to guiding the museum’s next era. Ferriso framed the DMA as “the City’s museum,” describing the institution as being at “an inflection point” and citing the ongoing expansion project as a catalyst for deeper connections with audiences across Dallas. Board Chair and search co-chair Sharon Young underscored that Ferriso’s recent experience steering Portland’s capital project will directly inform the DMA’s own building transformation now entering design phases.
At Portland, Ferriso paired institutional growth with broadened access. He more than doubled curatorial staff—nearly half of those roles now permanently endowed—increased the endowment by $40 million and eliminated $7 million in unfunded debt. He established the Art Access Endowment to underwrite free admission for visitors 17 and under, free school tours, and family free days, while also advancing inclusive governance and programming through new Native American curatorial leadership, board representation, and an advisory committee. Under his watch, PAM emphasized acquisitions by women, Native American and Black artists, and other artists of color.
Ferriso’s curatorial vision has been equally visible on the exhibition front. PAM served as co-presenter of Jeffrey Gibson’s the space in which to place me for the U.S. Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale—the first solo presentation by an Indigenous artist for the U.S. Pavilion—and organized surveys such as Black Artists of Oregon (2023) and Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal… (2019). He also initiated a series of single-work presentations (from Raphael to Titian) and design-focused shows exploring how art and design shape everyday life, including Cyclepedia: Iconic Bicycle Design (2013). p
The physical transformation of Portland’s campus has been a hallmark of Ferriso’s tenure. In partnership with Hennebery Eddy Architects and Vinci Hamp Architects, the project knits together two historic buildings by Pietro Belluschi and Frederick Fritsch, adds nearly 100,000 square feet of public and gallery space, and strengthens the museum’s role as a cultural commons—an expansion supported by more than $140 million raised for construction and endowment. That city-building mindset will be immediately relevant in Dallas.
The DMA selected Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos in August 2023 to reimagine its Edward Larrabee Barnes–designed building, an anchor of the Dallas Arts District since 1984. With the project team assembled and schematic planning underway, Ferriso is expected to steer the museum through design and realization phases, aligning capital investment with a broader vision of access, civic impact, and collection growth.
Ferriso’s path to Dallas includes directorial roles at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa (2002–2006), senior curatorial leadership at the Milwaukee Art Museum, and administrative posts at the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago. He holds a BA in economics from Bowdoin College, an MA in arts administration from New York University, and an MA in art history from the University of Chicago. His national service includes leadership within the Association of Art Museum Directors and the American Federation of Arts, alongside recognition such as the Foundation for Italian Art and Culture’s Excellency Award. He is also a practicing artist, trained under Frank Mason at New York’s Art Students League.
For Dallas, Ferriso’s appointment lands at a consequential moment. The DMA, one of the nation’s largest encyclopedic museums with free general admission, has pursued an increasingly inclusive and porous model in recent years. Ferriso’s blend of fundraising prowess, community engagement, and design-savvy project management suggests a director poised to translate big-picture vision into lived public experience—across galleries, classrooms, plazas, and the civic life of the city.