New CEO Heidi Zuckerman in fundraising mode

The Costa Mesa-based Orange County Museum of the Arts probably had the biggest changes of the large art entities over the past year.

Last August, CEO Todd Smith departed for a similar position in North Carolina. In February, it hired Heidi Zuckerman, who managed the Aspen Art Museum from 20052019.

OCMA is still planning to complete its $75 million new museum by next spring. It got a big boost when it brought on a new member of the board, Bob Olson, one of the most prolific developers of hotels on the West Coast as the founder and CEO of Newport Beach’s R.D. Olson Development. Olson is now chair of the New Building Committee.

“We are in the middle of construction and it’s going really well,” Zuckerman said. “We’re planning our opening activities. When we open to the public, we’ll do a 24-hour opening. We will be collaborating with as many organizations as possible.”

Zuckerman, who has curated more than 200 exhibitions, is planning a gala full of events to attract the public to its first day, including yoga and movies in the middle of the night for insomniacs. OCMA’s temporary 32,000-square-foot facility was able to reopen for a few months last fall until it had to close again as the county’s number of COVID cases spiked. Zuckerman said it’s still undetermined if the interim museum will reopen before the permanent building is completed.

The museum is working with Farmers & Merchants Bank to finance the $75 million project. Thus far, OCMA has raised more than $55 million, including a recent $3 million anonymous gift, she said.

“I love raising money,” Zuckerman said. “We are a great investment for philanthropic dollars. As we approach the doubling of capital gains taxes, we are available to talk with anyone about their appreciated stocks.”