On May 30, the Elverhoj Museum of History and Art announced that Jody Williams, co-owner of the Wandering Dog winery in Solvang, was hired to fill the newly created position of assistant director. Williams sat down with the Sun to discuss the new job, her background, and her longtime love of art history.
Sun: How did you go from working in the wine industry to the Elverhoj Museum?
Williams: A lot of people don’t realize I graduated from college with a degree in art history [a B.A. in History of Art and Visual Culture at UC Santa Cruz]. When I first graduated I wanted to go into the museum world and learn curating and more of that. I was going move to San Francisco from Santa Cruz. Then I decided … I was ready to come home [to Santa Ynez]. During the summers, and when I did move home, I was working with the Wildling Museum, volunteering there with their kids’ art camps. When I moved home I started an internship with the curator of photography at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. But then I fell into the wine industry. This area doesn’t really have a ton of opportunity in the museum world for a young person, but there was a lot of opportunity in the wine industry. I loved that and was very successful in the wine industry here. I was at Carina Cellars and became national sales manager. I left that to open [Wandering Dog Wine Bar] with my husband, which we’ve now had for 11 years.
Sun: What prompted you to take this position?
Williams: When I saw this job opportunity I was very excited and thought I would like to finally pursue that passion of being in the museum world but still getting to stay here in the valley. I had been to openings but hadn’t been as active as I wanted to. I think a lot of locals don’t realize how much contemporary art is happening here. You have the Danish history part and that doesn’t change. I think it’s great that they are at a point with the museum where they could create this position. It’s time to grow and to get more of the word out there.
Sun: How did you decide you wanted to study art history?
Williams: It all started with this African-American art history course that I took as part of my general education fulfillments. I think it was my second quarter at UC Santa Cruz. I had never taken an art history course before. I loved it. I thought this was a great lens to view history through. It was so visual. And to me, it’s interesting reading about history in a book, but to see it through art makes a big difference. I was sold after that course.
Sun: You were a fixture at Wandering Dog; will you still be working there from time to time?
Williams: I won’t be at the bar during the week, unless there is some kind of emergency or they need me to fill in. This is a very different type of job; it’s a Monday through Friday, nine-to-five type of job. We also have another business, called Broken Clock Vinegar Works. I’m also a mom, so that’s also a big priority for me. Our daughter just turned 5 and will be starting kindergarten soon. It’s good timing.
Sun: What would you tell people about why it’s so important to visit local museums such as the Elverhoj?
Williams: We host schoolchildren here a lot and it’s so great to see their faces light up when they can learn more about the history of Solvang. There is such a huge Danish presence still here. There are actually more Danes here now than when they settled the area originally. It’s been interesting tapping into that history. At the bar, I saw a lot of people who wanted to know more about the history. I would always send them over here because it seemed like a lot of them wanted to take the extra step and learn more. The museum is very well set up in that regard. I think it’s important to show the adults and the kids that Solvang didn’t always look like this. It wasn’t always a theme town. It was a working town, just like every place.
Sun: What are some of the things you are doing now and what are you looking forward to?
Williams: Right now we’re working very hard planning our huge event, the Summer Solstice fundraiser. Once that’s over, we’ll be able to sit down and talk more about some of the new things they want this position to be able to implement. They want to grow their education outreach programs and reach out to families more. I love the contemporary art exhibitions. The Nancy Yaki exhibit that’s up right now is amazing. I’m really excited to learn more about the exhibitions and what goes into curating them. I’m looking forward to working with the artists and learning more about that aspect.
Arts and Lifestyle Writer Rebecca Rose is full of historical trivia. Contact her at rrose@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 14-21, 2018.