When most people hit “retirement age,” they retire. Eileen Garry didn’t take that route. Instead she began working for what was then known as the Museum Without Walls. Almost exactly 20 years later, Garry quietly retired as executive director of The Kansas City Jewish Museum of Contemporary Art late last year.
Now 86, Garry has assumed the title of executive director emeritus. She was supposed to retire early this year, but stepped back sooner than expected when she needed to undergo a hip replacement. She has recovered from the surgery, and plans to stay active with the gallery.
“If somebody needs me for something, I will be happy to pitch in,” she said during a recent interview at her home. “This is like my baby. I brought it from nowhere to this, and I think we’ve done a good job with it.”
She has absolutely loved working with the organization and said “it was probably the best period of time in my life, period.”
“I loved working with the people,” she continued. “I would have continued on, but I’m too old. I’m sorry it’s over, but they needed somebody young and adorable to come in and do what I did. I’ve done good stuff.”
Marcus Cain has taken over for Garry as KCJMCA’s executive director. He served as curator during Garry’s tenure, and is excited to continue working with her in a new capacity.
“Working with Eileen has been a true gift. Her contributions to the development and vitality of KCJMCA and her advocacy for artists and their work for the past 20 years in this organization is an incredible legacy that will live on for generations,” Cain said.
“She continues to be a source of inspiration and support for me personally as well as for everyone at KCJMCA. I am looking forward to this new chapter in our friendship. Knowing Eileen, she will continue to do amazing work in this community, and I look forward to following her progress.”
It’s undergone a variety of name changes over the year, but its mission has remained constant. KCJMCA’s purpose is to provide innovative art exhibitions and related programming that engage seniors and diverse audiences from all segments of our community to enrich lives and celebrate our common humanity through art. KCJMCA realizes this goal through its celebrated Epsten Gallery venue at Village Shalom and through its Museum Without Walls exhibition partnership program.
Garry is proud of KCJMCA’s successes and always shares the credit with those she’s worked with over the years.
“We’ve had some wonderful people who have been on staff … and they set the tone for our exhibits,” she said.
Regina Kort, who recently finished her term as president of KCJMCA’s board, said Garry has been the organization’s heart and soul from the very beginning.
“Because of her dedication, enthusiasm and hard work our organization has evolved into one of the premier spaces in the Kansas City area that features up-and-coming regional and national artists. We have been fortunate to have an executive director of Eileen’s caliber,” Kort said.
A devoted volunteer
Garry moved to Kansas City from New York in 1946 as the wife of Marshall Garry. She served as a “professional volunteer” for several years, while raising three children, Joshua, Paul and Stephanie (today all are married with children, and Garry now has three great grandchildren).
Over the years she accepted leadership roles in a variety of organizations including (but not limited to) her children’s school, Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, Jewish Family & Children Services, the Central Agency for Jewish Education and the National Conference for Community and Justice. As a founding member of Congregation Beth Torah and its third president, she still speaks passionately about the congregation and the Reform movement in general. Earlier, she was an active member of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah. During that time she served as an officer and board member, president of its sisterhood and spent six years representing the congregation on the national board of what is now known as Women of Reform Judaism.
Becoming an art aficionado
Garry’s involvement with the Museum Without Walls came at the invitation of Sybil Kahn in 1992. Kahn and her late husband, Norman, founded the organization.
“I was a volunteer and I loved it and then I went to work with her,” Garry reminisced. “We had a really good relationship.”
KCJMCA Past President Michael Klein noted that the board worked closely with Garry over the years to stabilize the organization through the creation of an endowment, two additional staff positions, the successful completion of a five-year strategic plan and a solid foundation of private, individual donor support. He said over the past 20 years Garry has remained a constant presence at KCJMCA, originally working under Kahn, the former executive director, five KCJMCA presidents, three assistant directors, two curators and one administrative assistant.
Garry pointed out that it was Klein who suggested the Museum Without Walls move into Village Shalom before it opened to run the Epsten Gallery. The gallery space was donated by Bobby and Jackee Epsten. KCJMCA has run the gallery since its inception, but is only housed at Village Shalom. KCJMCA is a completely separate non-profit organization.
“We are not part of Village Shalom. We have to raise our own money to bring our exhibits in and those exhibits can cost anywhere between $6,000 and $10,000 each,” she said.
While she has always liked art, she didn’t consider herself an expert when she started this journey. Now she does.
“I adored art in my own way. I was not an aficionado. I was not a real art person. But Sybil taught me a lot about how to appreciate art and I’ve loved every minute of it,” she explained.
Garry can point to many highlights during her time as KCJMCA executive director. She is most proud of the reputation it has earned.
“The Epsten Gallery and the Kansas City Jewish Museum has become a real entity in Kansas City. There is no definitive Jewish art gallery in Kansas City. This is the closest that it comes,” Garry said.
She has enjoyed meeting many wonderful artists including Victor Babu, who taught ceramics at the Kansas City Art Institute for more than three decades, and ceramicist Irma Starr.
Then there was the exhibit of Herb Adler’s cut glass some years ago.
“It’s the most magnificent collection of cut glass, I think, in this part of the country. As a result it was shown at the Nelson. That is one of our highlights,” she said.
“I’ve adored meeting the artists,” she continued. “Some artists who came out of New York were discovered here and were picked up by the Nerman. Others were picked up by the Nelson.”
Then there are the successful fundraising campaigns she organized over the years, including UrbanSuburban, KCJMCA’s annual fundraiser that most recently raised almost $200,000 for the organization.
While she is no longer working every day, she hopes KCJMCA continues to be a vital part of the community.
“There’s nothing like us, that I know of, in Kansas City,” she said. “We have definitely made a name for ourselves.”