TULSA ESTATE PLANNING FORUM

Bio: Brian Lee Whisenhunt has worked in art education and museums for over thirty years and, more than anything, enjoys connecting people’s perspectives, identity, and experiences to museum collections.  He served as director of education at the Wichita Art Museum in Kansas and then inaugural manager of public programs for the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, TX, when it opened in 2006. Brian then became director of the Swope Art Museum in Terre Haute, IN, where he oversaw their successful reaccreditation by AAM, followed by the Museum of the Southwest in Midland, TX, where he led a $5.4M renovation of the art museum and celebration of its 50^th anniversary. In January of 2017, Brian became executive director of The Rockwell Museum in Corning, NY where he built upon the museum’s stellar reputation as institutional leader in arts and museum education; grew the art collection by 25% with artists reflecting the diversity of the American experience; increase attendance to the museum, its programs and events; and oversaw plans for the celebration of the Museum’s 50th anniversary and reaccreditation by the American Alliance of Museums. He was named Executive Director and CEO of Gilcrease in February of 2024 and is currently becoming reacquainted with his hometown and its diverse communities; expanding the exemplary Gilcrease team; and working to open the museum’s new building and reconnect it with the communities the institution has served for almost 80 years.