MOCA's director, Russell, leaving in May

She leaves May 1 to head up the Sarasota Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida.

Native Tucsonan Samuel Nohe Ireland, the Museum of Contemporary Art’s deputy director, will step in as interim director.

While Ireland will initially have interim in the title, he is a likely candidate for the permanent post, said Courtney McEniry, president of MOCA’s board of directors, adding that a search for Russell’s replacement is not planned.

“Sam is our best candidate right now,” McEniry said. “He’s a fabulous candidate.”

Ireland was MOCA’s director of operations from 2009-11. He left to pursue his MBA at Portland State University and an MA in art history from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York City.

He returned to Tucson to take the post of MOCA’s deputy director in December.

“It’s an incredible opportunity,” said Ireland, 31, about the interim post and the potential of a permanent role as executive director of MOCA, which operates on a $450,000 annual budget and has three full-time and four part-time employees.

“MOCA’s mission is to bring the wider context of the global art world and connect it with our Tucson audience. Accomplishing that goal is of huge importance to me.”

Russell has been at MOCA’s helm for more than a decade. In that time, the museum has moved from a leaky building in the warehouse district to an expansive former fire station in downtown, secured prestigious grants from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts totaling $240,000, established the Local Genius Awards presented to Tucsonans who have had a global impact, and attracted the attention of such publications as Artforum, the standard-bearer in arts news and criticism.

Russell has done this while championing artists from and with connections to Tucson.

“About everything we do ties back to Tucson,” said Russell in a phone interview. “We work with artists from all around the world, but there’s always a connection to this place.”

Leaving Tucson isn’t easy, she said.

“I am thrilled at the opportunity, but it’s bittersweet because we so deeply love the Tucson community, especially because it’s the coolest place on the planet,” said Russell, whose husband, Mike Hein, has resigned as Pima County’s director of the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, and will move to Florida with her.

“I was devastated when I first heard the news,” McEniry said. “I’m sorry for the community because she’s brilliant and has added so much to the intellectual fabric of Tucson and downtown.

“However, I’m really happy for her; she deserves this great career move.”

While Russell is lauded for her accomplishments, she hasn’t always had an easy time.

The museum was operating on an annual budget of about $70,000 when the Warhol Foundation stepped in with the first $110,000.

When the fire station became available in 2009, MOCA was given a $1-a-year lease from the city. The museum spent about $125,000 to upgrade the 19,000-square-foot space, and is responsible for all upkeep.

Some groused that it was a sweetheart deal, despite the fact that no other bids came in for the building.

The lease with the city was renegotiated last year; MOCA now pays 25 percent of market rate (currently about $1,000 a month). The lease extends through 2019, with options for renewals after that.

With MOCA now on a more secure financial footing and with a permanent home, Ireland hopes for more growth.

“The goal is to insure that MOCA continues its upward trajectory for generations to come,” he said. “That’s everyone’s first priority.”