New director takes helm at Greenport’s Seaport Museum

The East End Seaport Museum and Marine Foundation has tapped Erin Kimmel as their new director. According to EESM, Ms. Kimmel has worked locally on projects for The Water Mill Center, Stony Brook University, as well as globally recognized arts organizations like ArtForum and Ballroom Marfa. 

Earlier in her life, Ms. Kimmel spent time in Texas, California and South Carolina. Though she comes from a varied background geographically, she connected deeply with her adopted Long Island home.

“I am an art historian by training. I’m a Ph.D. candidate in art history at Stony Brook, and I completed my masters and my B.A. in art history there as well,” said Ms. Kimmel. “I ended up really falling in love with a very local context. [I started] to do a lot of research about the cultural production of small maritime communities in Long Island, and so I sort of ended up living what I was also writing about, which is so lovely.”

Ms. Kimmel said her interests have always leaned towards preservation and the arts. Her background includes 15 years of wide-ranging experience in curating, nonprofit administration and fundraising.

“From a young age, I was interested in art and history … So I think I’ve always known I would be going into museums,” said Ms. Kimmel. “I think the combination of the experience in museums and working in arts nonprofits, as well as my passion about the history of our local area [helped me connect.]”

Ms. Kimmel brings more than just her art history background to EESM. She is also an avid sailor, deepening her perspective on the museum and the history it presents.

“I’m a sailor, and that’s actually pretty relevant. A lot of our members are really diehard sailors, and that isone of the wonderful idiosyncrasies of our museum, that is specifically maritime focused,” said Ms. Kimmel. “In that way, it’s super fun for me as a sailor to take the helm here.”