People

Randall Suffolk is the Director of the High Museum of Art. Since his arrival in 2015, he has championed a renewed commitment to community engagement, placing emphasis on collaboration, inclusivity and access. To support these objectives, the museum has reduced admission fees, greatly diversified its exhibition schedule, added more than 4,000 objects to the collection, worked collaboratively with nearly 30 community partners annually, and developed a variety of new programming to serve its increasingly diverse, multi-generational audience. In 2018, Suffolk led a sweeping reinstallation of the museum’s collection galleries.

He has been recognized as one of the Art World’s Most Influential People (The Observer); one of the Top 200 Industry Influencers of Georgia’s Creative Economy (Georgia Entertainment Creative Economy Journal); named one of Atlanta’s 25 Most Influential People (The Atlantan Magazine) and perennially included among The Atlanta 500: Our City’s Most Powerful Leaders (Atlanta Magazine).

Prior to joining the High, Suffolk served as director of Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Okla., where he designed and implemented a comprehensive plan that aligned the institution’s programming with the interests of Tulsa residents. This led to a reinstallation of the museum’s permanent collection galleries, increases in membership and attendance, and a dramatic change in visitor demographics, including five consecutive years with minority participation over 40 percent of total attendance. The success of this institutional strategy and program was nationally recognized in a 2013 study led by independent researchers Anne Bergeron and Beth Tuttle in partnership with the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), in which Philbrook was highlighted as one of six national models of community engagement. He also was instrumental in leading the development and opening of Philbrook Downtown, a 30,000-square-foot satellite facility opened in 2013. During his tenure, Philbrook acquired nearly 7,000 works of art, representing 42 percent of the museum’s permanent collection.

From 1999 through 2007, Suffolk was the director of The Hyde Collection Art Museum in Glens Falls, N.Y. His focus at the institution included building constituency, overseeing a museum expansion, and guiding the award-winning restoration of the historic Hyde House.

Suffolk has curated more than 25 exhibitions and has participated as a juror, panel member or guest lecturer for a variety of art-related organizations and programs. He holds a Master’s degree in art history from Bryn Mawr College, a Master’s degree in higher education administration from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Connecticut College.