Joel Bartsch: How the HMDA is Fostering Art

Thursday, October 7, 2021

How the HMDA is Fostering Art

Joel Bartsch has worked at museums in Colorado, Hawaii, California, and Texas. At Lyman Hosue Memorial Museum in Hilo, Hawaii, he doubled the membership base in his first quarter by taking an innovative approach towards recruitment. From 2010 to 2016, Joel A. Bartsch was the Chairman of the Houston Museum District Association.

The Houston Museum District Association comprises ten museums located in a 1.5-mile radius of the Mecom Fountain, Hermann Park. The association aims to maximize the use of the scientific, artistic, and educational resources of the institutions in the Houston Museum District by Houston citizens and visitors. In trying to achieve this goal, the association promotes free admission days to Houston district museums.

Also, the Houston Museum District Association highlights and gives information about all the amazing things happening in the District. The Association keeps museum enthusiasts and prospective workers up to date on volunteer and job opportunities. Lastly, the Houston Museum District Association is helping to publicize the Greater Houston Area Arts Relief Fund for artists and arts workers. This relief fund seeks to support artists impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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About Joel Bartsch

Since 2004, Joel A. Bartsch has led the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) as president and CEO. In this capacity, he coordinates and leads museum staff and curators in the creation and maintenance of immersive exhibits, implements renovation strategies, and promoting museum-wide leadership. Through these efforts and many others, Joel A. Bartsch has nearly doubled both the institution’s annual attendance and membership base. He also oversaw two major expansions at the museum that added more than 250,000 square feet of space.

Mr. Bartsch began gaining experience in museum leadership more than three decades ago, when he joined the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum as a curatorial assistant and assistant to the director. He held this role during his last years as a mining engineering student at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. From there, Mr. Bartsch took on staff roles at the Texas Memorial Museum and HMNS, curator of earth sciences at Lyman House Memorial Museum in Hawaii, and director and curator of the California State Mining & Mineral Museum.

Through these positions, Joel Bartsch gained extensive experience in everything from managing daily operations and directing fundraising efforts to writing corporate grant requests. He drew on this experience when he returned to HMNS as a curator, project manager, and director of earth sciences, the positions he held immediately prior to his current role as the president and CEO.