Patricia Goodwin Retires

 

Patricia Goodwin, Executive Director of Franklin G. Burroughs – Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum, Announces Retirement after 24 Years of Dedicated Leadership

Myrtle Beach, SC — A visionary leader who expanded exhibitions, collections and community engagement, Pat Goodwin is retiring from her position as Executive Director of the Art Museum in November of 2026 after 24 years as a champion of the arts in Myrtle Beach, SC. During her tenure, Goodwin guided the museum through important periods of growth and change, strengthening its role as a cultural cornerstone and championing access to the arts for residents and visitors alike. Under her passionate leadership, the organization set a high bar for design and presentation, expanded its exhibitions, strengthened its permanent collection and deepened its connection to the community through innovative programs and educational initiatives. Her dedication to excellence, collaboration and community engagement has helped elevate the Museum’s profile and strengthen its impact across the region.

Her devotion to reaching as many visitors and community members as possible led to the years long policy of free admission to the Museum before having to institute a small admission fee in the summer of 2025. It is due to her that even now, there are a number of free admission programs including for children under 18.   

In addition to instituting important cultural family days like Dia de los Muertos, Chinese New Year and Gullah Day—where food, music, dance, performance, crafts, lectures and markets celebrated different cultures—in 2007 and again in 2015 Goodwin brought Tibetan monks to the Museum to create the sacred, impermanent art of a mandala. Both times the line to get in to see them was out the door. Hundreds of visitors and locals looked on as the monks laid down millions of tiny grains of colored sand to create an intricate, geometric design, then watched as it was swept up and later whisked away by the tides in the dissolution ceremony.    

In 2016 Goodwin, along with key staff, began planning for a much needed community pottery studio at the museum and the Linetta Prichard Pottery Studio was opened in 2018. Now with 48 students and a wait list of more than 200 people the studio brings the magic of clay to the Grand Strand area.  

Starting in 2020 Goodwin led the Museum and its staff through the pandemic while avoiding lay-offs of the full-time team and keeping the doors open while nationally, many museums had to close. In addition to protecting the Museum and staff as a cultural resource, she led the charge to innovate during that time through programs like virtual exhibition tours and KidsArt with take-home art kits.  

In 2025, and thanks to our Villa Club members, Goodwin and friend-of-the-museum Karen Olson wrote, compiled and edited The Villa: A Myrtle Beach Story, which traces the history of the Villa from its earliest days as a beach cottage to its current role as the home of the Myrtle Beach Art Museum. The book offers an important chronicle of the building—not only as the Museum’s home, but also as a significant part of Myrtle Beach’s history. 

Goodwin has not slowed her pace just because she is retiring. This summer she will oversee, A Lasting Impression, a remarkable exhibition of work from Impressionist, Fauvist, Cubist and other modern art movements that explores the impact Impressionism had on the future of art. It includes original work by an impressive list of artists including Cassat, Degas, Matisse, Picasso and Renoir. A first for this area.  

Art Museum Board President Rosemary Jenrette states, “I have been part of the Museum since early on and I’ve had the distinct pleasure of working closely with Pat and watching the institution flourish—its collection grow, its reach expand, and its community of patrons strengthen. I am truly grateful for that journey. Her leadership has been instrumental to the Museum’s success, and she will be sincerely missed.” 

The Museum’s Board of Trustees will lead a nationwide search to replace Goodwin, and her wealth of accomplishments will be difficult to match. Her legacy and transformative leadership will continue to shape the Museum’s future, leaving a lasting impact on both the institution and the broader art community. The Museum patrons, Trustees, staff and visitors express their heartfelt gratitude for her years of service and leadership.