The Honolulu Museum of Art announced today the departure of Theresa Papanikolas, deputy director of arts and programs, effective Nov. 8, 2018.

Papanikolas, who has expertise in 19th- and 20th-century art, is starting a new position as the Ann M. Barwick Curator of American Art at the Seattle Art Museum in January.

“Theresa has been a creative curator and an active member of HoMA’s management team,” said HoMA director Sean O’Harrow in a news release. “She has led an innovative exhibition program, added greatly to our permanent collection, and successfully transformed both curatorial and education departments into a cohesive unit that better serves our public. We thank her profusely for her decade-long tenure.”

Papanikolas joined the museum in 2008 as curator of European and American Art, and brought some major exhibition projects that included “From Whistler to Warhol: Modernism on Paper” (2010), “Georgia O’Keeffe and Ansel Adams: The Hawai‘i Pictures” (2013), “Art Deco Hawai‘i” (2014), and “Abstract Expressionism: Looking East from the Far West” (2017).

Earlier this year, she collaborated with the New York Botanical Garden on “Georgia O’Keeffe: Visions of Hawai‘i.”

“The past 10 years at HoMA have been a unique and rewarding challenge in all the best ways,” said Papanikolas in a statement. “Not only have I had the opportunity to craft a program that has raised the museum’s profile in the fields of European and American art, but I have also been able to do so through a period of profound transformation. Over the years, I have watched HoMA go from being a municipal art museum with an incredible collection to becoming one of the leading cultural institutions in the Pacific Rim. The museum is truly on an exciting trajectory, and I enthusiastically await what’s next.”

HoMA said its management is currently examining its best options for restructuring responsibilities within the Art and Programs department.