The Old Jail Art Center
Press Release
Tom Jones at his desk.
Mr. Jones was the Executive Director of the Museum of the Southwest in Midland, Texas (1995-2010) and was formerly Executive Director of the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History in Danville, Virginia (1987-1995) and Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Albany Museum of Art in Albany, Georgia (1983-1987). His more than 26 years experience managing and directing public art museums has been characterized by innovation, growth and strategic vision; with an impressive record of success developing programs and collections, expanding facilities, and building philanthropic and community support.
Jones serves the museum community as a peer reviewer for the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS), a federal granting agency and is an Ambassador Member of the American Association of Museums and a member of the Accreditation Visiting Committees. He is a former member of the governing council of CASETA, the Center for the Advancement and Study of Early Texas Art.
A native of Annandale, Virginia, Jones holds a Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Visual Studies from the College of Architecture, Arts, and Humanities, Clemson University, Clemson, SC; and a Bachelor Degree in Art from the Holden School of Art, Radford University, Radford, VA. He served in the U.S. Army in Korea as a Military Police Dog Handler during the Vietnam War (1972-73) after attending primary and secondary schools in Berlin, Germany and Okinawa, Japan. Tom and his wife Sally have two children, a daughter (age 17) and son (age 15).
Steve Waller, President of the Board of Trustees of the Old Jail Art Center said, “I am very pleased that Tom has accepted the position. Over the past fifteen years, he has led a major Texas cultural institution and his record of achievement has been outstanding. We believe he has the drive, creative initiative, and vision that the Old Jail Art Center needs for its future.”
Tom Jones said, “I am excited and honored to be selected as the Art Center’s Executive Director and look forward to becoming part of the community. Albany is a charming town in a picturesque county with a rich history and the Old Jail Art Center is the corner stone.”
The Old Jail Art Center (OJAC), opened in 1980 with four small galleries, in the first permanent jail built in Shackelford County (1877). Rapid growth necessitated additions to the museums in 1984 and 1996 with another modest addition in 2009. All were designed by Fort Worth architect Arthur Weinman. Today the OJAC encompasses some 15,000 square feet and is a thriving, widely acclaimed art museum dedicated to the visual arts and to preserving the local history of the Shackelford County area. A sculpture courtyard complements the facility. The OJAC has been included since 1989 in the select group of museums nationwide that is accredited by the American Association of Museums.
The collection has over 2,150 works of art. The largest area of the collection comprises modern drawings, paintings, and prints by well-known Americans such as John Marin, John Sloan, and Thomas Hart Benton and Europeans, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Klee, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, and Joan Miro. The collection also contains a sizable number of works by contemporary British artists, a regional collection and Taos Modernists. A small, but impressive collection of Asian and pre-Columbian art round out the Museum's holdings. The OJAC actively collects and showcases the work of young Texas artists as part of its mission and has a vibrant art education program including distance-learning capabilities.