“Warmth” and “grace.” If you had only two words allotted to describe Jana McGee, those would be the ones. If you were allotted a third or fourth word, “encouraging” and “trendy” would surely follow suit. McGee, the Georgia Museum of Art’s accounting assistant, leans more toward the outgoing side of the staff; her brightly colored clothing and the subtle purple, pink or sometimes green streaks in her hair are telltale signs of her cheerful personality. A careful glance at her desk reveals nuggets of assurance, joy, fun and fashion.
For nearly 11 1/2 years, McGee has made the hour-long commute from her hometown of Hartwell, Georgia, to the museum. She first felt drawn to Athens when she accompanied her husband to complete his new-hire paperwork for the University of Georgia’s auxiliary services.
“I had this unbelievable feeling of ‘Ahhhh, this is home,’” said McGee. “One year later, to the day, I began my career at [the museum] and it has felt like home every day!”
Over the course of her tenure at the museum, she absorbed inspiration not only from its unique exhibitions, but also from the people behind the scenes.
“The museum works like a well-oiled machine when it comes to fulfilling [its] mission,” said McGee. “It’s amazing to see how the exhibitions come to life. It starts as an idea and then blossoms from there. Once the idea becomes a reality, just watching the staff go to work is inspirational. The idea, the fundraising, the contracts, the educational programs, receiving borrowed pieces, the inspection of the borrowed pieces, the uncrating, hanging, the arrangement of the objects, the opening of the exhibition and everything else…they just seem to come together and our staff makes it seem so easy. It just happens, and that is quite inspirational to me.”
She also reflected on the unified community effort needed to sustain the museum. “I wish [and] hope that [people] know just how much we appreciate them,” said McGee. “Their visits, phone calls, donations, volunteering and everything they do to support the museum is very much appreciated.” This community partnership with the museum is one of the reasons she enjoys spreading the word about it.
While a significant portion of McGee’s role entails managing accounting, she credits the museum for opening her artistic eyes.
“I came from a small town, went to a small high school, and back in the day, we had a limited number of art classes,” McGee recounted. “We didn’t have any of the art history or AP courses that are available for students now. When I started at the museum and thought of art, I thought of paintings and sculptures and that was about it. After working in the museum for a while and talking with our talented curators, I learned that some of the things that I thought [weren’t] art, actually [were]. …I have learned to appreciate all types of art.”
For McGee, fashion has been the lens that crystallizes art. During a 2011 visit to New York to see the exhibition “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty,” McGee pivoted from dismissing portraits to realizing some are exquisite.
“As we were walking through the Met, my friend asked me if there was any type of art that I didn’t like, and I told him that I wasn’t a fan of painted portraits. Just as those words left my mouth, we walked around a corner and there was the most beautiful portrait that I had ever seen,” recalled McGee. “That experience was life changing. I have not looked at art the same way since.”
Some of McGee’s favorite exhibitions from the Georgia Museum of Art are also fashion related. She names “Emilio Pucci in America” and “Fashion Independent: The Original Style of Ann Bonfoey Taylor” as two of her favorites. Both exhibitions included clothing, shoes and accessories, which kept McGee returning to the galleries to admire them whenever she had a free moment.
Alongside art appreciation, McGee picked up another gem over the years: “There is still a lot of good in this world. As crazy as our world is right now, there are still people out there doing great and kind things.”
During this next phase, McGee plans on enjoying time with her husband, swimming at her sister’s pool and tackling some household projects. She’ll miss friends from the museum and around campus, but she promises to visit from time to time. We’re looking forward to taking her up on that.
It’s been nothing short of a pleasure, Jana McGee.
Authored by:
Candice Lawrence
