The Hockaday Museum of Art has announced the hiring of a new executive director, Tracy Johnson, who will begin her official duties tomorrow.

“I’m really excited to begin work there [at the Hockaday],” Johnson said.

“I’m a little nervous jumping in right at the start of the busy summer season,” she added, laughing. “But there is a great staff in place, and I’m excited to really dig in and start learning.”

Johnson is no stranger to “digging in,” with an extensive background in archeology. Her father was a geologist and her mother ran an art gallery, giving her an early foundation in both science and art.

“It always fascinated me how much those two can overlap,” Johnson said.

Johnson followed her fascination through a bachelor’s degree in archeology from Simon Fraser University. She began her career doing archaeological fieldwork in British Columbia for six years, spending summers outside in the field and winters inside cleaning, analyzing and studying artifacts.

“That time taught me a lot about different cultures,” Johnson said. “Learning respect of those cultures and their experiences through the artifacts ... It was an amazing time, an invaluable time.”

The time spent inside with the artifacts sparked an interest in collections work, and ultimately led to a post-graduate degree in cultural resource management with an emphasis on museums from the University of Victoria.

From 2006 to 2011, Johnson served as the curator of collections and exhibitions at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon. That museum’s focus is on Native American and early pioneer objects, archival records, photographs and historical and contemporary Western art.

“That was a very busy job, but great experience,” Johnson said. “And that also gave me the opportunity to transition into the art world. So many artifacts are art.”

When her husband, Mark, was deployed to Afghanistan in 2012, Johnson decided it was time for a change of scenery. She became the Oliver and District Heritage Society’s community heritage manager, overseeing a community archives and historic building museum in Oliver, British Columbia. She said her proudest achievement while there was securing a federal grant for renovation of the museum’s interior while preserving the historic characteristics of the building.

After her husband returned to the United States, the couple regrouped in Bend and Johnson took some time off from her career to be a stay-at-home mom for their son, Edward. When the time was right, Johnson said, both began looking for work outside of Bend.

She said that was when they began considering the Flathead Valley as a new home.

“I love what I’ve seen and experienced so far,” Johnson said. “I’m looking forward to getting there and learning about the valley and the community.”

“Tracy, with her strong museum experience, education, and drive, will continue to raise the profile of the Hockaday as an expanding regional museum and ensure continuity of programming for the Museum’s members, artists, and guests,” said Hockaday Board President Harry Wilson in a press release.

Johnson said she has a lot of ideas and plans for the Hockaday moving forward. She hopes to focus particularly on earning additional grants to support all aspects of the museum, from collections to technology to care of the building itself. She said she also plans to begin the accreditation process through the American Alliance of Museums. All of these projects, she said, will ultimately allow the Hockaday to offer even more to the community.

This is a busy week for the Hockaday, with Johnson starting work tomorrow and two new exhibits — “Native Sons of the American West” by Paul Surber and “Above the Fruited Plain” by Dwayne Wilcox — opening Thursday. Johnson said she is excited to begin meeting all of the Hockaday’s supporters at events in the coming weeks.

The Hockaday Museum of Art is located at 302 Second Ave. E. in Kalispell, in a 1904 historical Carnegie Library building. The museum is a private nonprofit organization, open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information and a full list of upcoming events and exhibits, visit www.HockadayMuseum.org or call 406-755-5268.

Entertainment editor Stefanie Thompson can be reached at 758-4439 or ThisWeek@dailyinterlake.com.