Bill Kramer has been named director of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the museum’s Board of Trustees announced today. Kramer, who served as managing director of development and external relations of the Academy Museum from 2012 to 2016, will take the reins as the institution’s new leader on January 1, 2020, guiding its artistic and cultural vision and overseeing the final phase of the museum’s completion.
“The board unanimously welcomes Bill Kramer as the Academy Museum’s new director,” said Ron Meyer, Chair of the Academy Museum Board of Trustees and Vice Chairman of NBCUniversal. “Bill’s experience and influence in the worlds of design, culture, and academia, coupled with his institutional knowledge of the museum, position him as an ideal leader to guide the museum to its opening and beyond.”
“We are all very enthusiastic about working with Bill again,” said Academy CEO Dawn Hudson. “He was an early leader of this project—a visionary who shepherded the initial design and construction process, and helped define the Academy Museum’s identity. In his recent work at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, he helped execute a ground-breaking expansion of BAM’s visual art program, attracting and connecting with broad and diverse worldwide audiences. We’re confident he will inspire our creative teams and lead the Academy Museum to successful completion.”
“I have a deep connection to the Academy Museum,” said Kramer. “I am so looking forward to working again with the museum’s creative teams, staff, and partners as we prepare to open the doors of our spectacular campus. As I felt when I helped to launch this project, I am confident that we are building the world’s greatest museum experience dedicated to movies.”
During his time at the Academy Museum, Bill oversaw production of the museum’s very first exhibition, Hollywood Costume, which explored costume design in cinematic storytelling, featuring more than 100 iconic movie costumes. The inaugural exhibit welcomed more than 78,000 visitors. Most recently, Kramer served as vice president of development at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), one of America’s most institutionally and programmatically diverse arts organizations, where he led a 45-person team tasked with raising significant private and government funding, overseeing a visual art expansion program, and platforming BAM’s growing film program to an international audience.
Before going to BAM, Kramer was vice president of institutional engagement at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Kramer has led capital and comprehensive campaigns for the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and has served in senior business and fundraising positions at the Sundance Institute and the Columbia University School of the Arts.
During his earlier tenure as managing director of development and external relations of the Academy Museum, Kramer served as the chief planning, public relations, advancement, exhibitions, and government relations officer for the museum’s pre-construction phase, successfully raising $250 million to move the project into construction and managing the project’s public approvals process.
Kramer holds a Master of Urban Planning and Public Administration degree from New York University and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
About the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
The Academy Museum will be the world’s premier institution dedicated to the art and science of movies. The Museum will be simultaneously immersive, experimental, educational, and entertaining. More than a museum, this dynamic film center will offer unparalleled experiences and insights into movies and moviemaking. Designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano, the Museum is restoring and revitalizing the historic Saban Building—formerly known as the May Company building (1939)—at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. The Saban Building will feature six floors, including exhibition spaces, the 288-seat Ted Mann Theater, an education studio, special event spaces, conservation areas, a café, and store. The new spherical addition will connect to the Saban Building via glass bridges and will feature the state-of-the-art 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater and the rooftop Dolby Family Terrace with sweeping views of the Hollywood Hills.
The Campaign for the Academy Museum is headed by chair Bob Iger and co-chairs Annette Bening and Tom Hanks. These industry leaders join other generous philanthropists who have named spaces, including Cheryl and Haim Saban (The Saban Building), The David Geffen Foundation (The David Geffen Theater), Dalian Wanda Group (The Wanda Gallery), Rolex (Rolex Gallery), Dolby Laboratories/Family of Ray Dolby (The Dolby Family Terrace), The Walt Disney Company (The Walt Disney Company Piazza), Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg (The Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery), Steven Spielberg (The Spielberg Family Gallery), Shirley Temple Black and Family (Shirley Temple Education Studio), Cecilia DeMille Presley (Founders Room), Gale Anne Hurd (Hurd Gallery), NBCUniversal, Netflix (Netflix Terrace), Participant Media, Gerry Schwartz and Heather Reisman (Gerry Schwartz and Heather Reisman Mezzanine), The Simms/Mann Family Foundation (Ted Mann Theater), Jeff Skoll, The Fran and Ray Stark Foundation, Warner Bros. Entertainment (The Warner Bros. Entertainment Gallery), Wasserman Foundation (Wasserman Bridge), and Wolfgang Puck Catering and Events LLC/Compass Group USA, Inc. The Academy Museum’s Digital Engagement Platform is sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
