BIMA executive director announces June departure
Published 1:30 am Friday, February 20, 2026
Sheila Hughes, executive director of the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, announced she is leaving the role June 20 after serving for 10 years.
“What a gift it’s been to be trusted with this exceptional organization, and to discover the constellation of artists, activists, supporters, staff, volunteers, and community groups who want to shape and immerse themselves in this vibrant, lively, warm, and wonderful incubator of art and ideas,” Hughes said in a news release. “The work has been so deeply collaborative and imaginative, and cultivated hope even in these dark and challenging times. I once called BIMA a gateway drug to joy — it really is that powerful and transformative – and I can’t think of anything this world might need more right now.”
Hughes has been the head of BIMA for most of the museum’s existence. She joined in 2016, three years after BIMA opened, after a career in executive positions at other arts organizations, including One Reel, Bumbershoot, Teatro ZinZanni, WOMAD, Summer Nights at the Pier, Gage Academy of Art, and the Icicle Creek Center for the Arts, per the release.
During her tenure, Hughes shaped programming at the museum as an institution on the island. Among other accomplishments, the museum credits her with launching two festivals dedicated to jazz and artist books, a visual arts awards program, and securing the Cynthia Sears Artists’ Books Collection as an endowment for the nonprofit museum.
On the operations side, Hughes secured an off-site office and storage facility for the museum, maintained a balanced budget and created a system of best practices for management and fundraising, the release says. During the pandemic, she ensured all 40 staffmembers of the museum remained employed.
Museum founder Cynthia Sears said Hughes “represents the best interests and objectives of the museum, and manages to inspire those who work with her to do their very best as well.”
Suzanna Darcy, president of the museum’s board of directors, added that Hughes “is smart, insightful, inspiring, creative, and financially astute — a unique combination of skills and heart.”
Hughes will remain in her role through June 20, supporting the transition for a new executive director. Additional information about the search and transition process will be shared in the coming weeks, the release concludes.
