James Burns: Executive Director, Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West - Epi. 164, Host Dr. Mark Sublette

I had Museum Director James Burns on today. James is an interesting guy because he's done so many things. He is a curator, a director, an individual who has always loved history and art. It's a fun ride because we get to see what it takes to get in that world, to be in the world of being an executive director for a museum.

You can tell from his story that it's not easy. He's gone through many different ideations and iterations of who he is and what he is to finally get to the pinnacle of his career. It's a wonderful thing to do, to be able to actually find your way in life, to do what you want to do. 

He's going to be the new director of Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West, taking over for Mike Fox on October 16th. It's a big job. There's a lot to do and there are a lot of moving parts.  We got to talk quite a bit about his new position as well as the opening that they'll be having on October 16th.

I've known James for 20 years, as he pointed out during the interview, and have followed his career closely. As a fan of what he's done for the museums that have had the privilege of having him on staff, I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, he is going to do great things for Scottsdales' premier art museum.