NEWBERRY — Sheridan Kate Murray is a new face many may already know here in Newberry — she is the new executive director of the Newberry Museum and has already made a name for herself in town.
Her first official day as executive director was Aug. 1, and this Asheville, N.C. native is excited about what the Newberry Museum has to offer.
“Extremely excited, overjoyed, when I got to see the museum space (for the first time), that is when I knew for sure this is exactly where I want to be,” Murray said. “So I am extremely excited to receive this position.”
Before becoming the executive director, Murray attended Wofford College in Spartanburg. It was there she received her B.S. in Environmental Studies and a B.A. in Art History.
“I liked the size, and I liked the proximity to my hometown and my family — Wofford is about an hour and fifteen minutes away (from Asheville),” Murray said. “They also have excellent environmental science and art history programs, both programs that I was interested in. That definitely attracted me to the college as well.”
During her time at Wofford, Murray received first hand experience working with a museum from pretty much day one. She said she was able to help with the Richardson Family Art Museum, located on Wofford’s Campus.
“It was donated by Jerry Richardson, former owner of the Carolina Panthers. From that experience, I started moving items we had — pieces of art and sculptures — from the library basement into the new building, to writing press releases about arriving exhibits, helping to give tours, setting up and doing installations and things like that,” she said. “So having that experience really prepared me for the experience of working in a new museum, and sort of being there from day one.”
Prior to Murray graduating, she was looking for jobs with museums, history and public history — to go along with her past experience at Wofford. She said that is when she came across the job posting here in Newberry.
After applying, Murray was contacted for an interview with the Museum Board members. That interview was followed with another a week later, this time she got to see the museum and was given a tour.
“I was offered the job not long after that,” she said. “I think in terms of what I’m most excited about, just getting the museum to have a larger reach and presence, as far as online, social medial, improving our website. Right now, I’m really working on improving the level of enthusiasm people have about the museum. So when they come in they are really enthusiastic about what we have to offer.”
Something Murray cannot wait to see is the first group of people to come in.
“In this area, people are so passionate about the history of the county. So letting them come in and see for the first time all their history in one place, polished, I can’t wait for them to see,” she said. “Besides that, I’m also excited how the museum is going to incorporate technology into its exhibits. We are bringing in several touch screen monitors, and smaller monitors to show off the history of different towns and municipalities.”
Murray stressed that the Newberry Museum is for everyone, whether a Newberry native or new to the Newberry County area.
“This museum and experience is for you. Building that community, not only in Newberry, but around this museum is important to me — especially as someone that is just coming into the area. I want people to know that I have preservation and presentation of their history in mind — it is a priority to me and the museum,” she said. “This museum is a space for anyone and everyone.”
The Newberry Museum will have their opening week Dec. 15-21 — with the grand opening taking place on Dec. 15 from 3-6 p.m. You can also follow the Newberry Museum on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, just search Newberry Museum.