Photos by Jamie Plain
Two of Owensboro’s cornerstone museums are entering a new chapter under the leadership of directors with deep personal ties to the institutions. Jason Hayden and Isaac Settle, now heading the Museum of Fine Art and the Museum of Science and History, respectively, are bringing a mix of experience, hometown connection, and fresh ideas as they look to update exhibits, expand outreach, and find new ways to collaborate.
Hayden brings decades of experience to helm of OMFA
Jason Hayden has worn nearly every hat imaginable during his decades-long journey with the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art. Now, as the museum’s director, he’s bringing that lifetime of experience to shape the next chapter of the institution’s story.
“I was trained by the previous director, Mary Bryan Hood, to do this job for many years,” Hayden said. “So yes, it’s a fulfillment of everything that I had been training for 30 years.”
Hayden first joined the museum in the early 1990s after earning his degree in graphic design just across the street at Brescia University. His first role was as a preparator — a term unique to the museum world that means someone who installs exhibitions and manages their presentation. Over time, he became the museum’s go-to designer, photographer, registrar, operations chief, development officer, and eventually director.
Through it all, he’s kept his creative passion front and center.
“I still feel like I’m a crafter at heart,” he said. “Even now, I feel like I’m creating something. Along with the board and staff, we’re creating the next version of the museum.”
Hayden’s connection to the museum predates his employment. As a child, he took art classes there — something he was reminded of when a coworker later unearthed a photo of him at age 9 participating in a youth program.
His path included stints in freelance photography and design before the full-circle return to the museum, where he has since become a nationally respected resource in the field of museum remediation following a 2003 fire that shuttered a gallery for three years.
That experience, combined with his artistic vision, has helped shape his plans moving forward. In the coming months, visitors can expect a “major expansion” of the museum’s educational outreach and capital improvements, Hayden said. While specifics will be announced soon, he said the goal is clear: “creating the museum that serves the region.”
Hayden’s artistic roots also remain strong outside the museum’s walls. He maintains a pottery studio at home and believes his creative discipline continues to shape his leadership.
“The smell of linseed oil in the oil painting class, the feel of the art room — it felt like I’d come home,” Hayden said. “That picked my career choice for me.”
Settle takes reins at OMSH with a passion rooted in the past
Isaac Settle’s path to directing the Owensboro Museum of Science and History started when he was just a curious kid walking its halls. Now, at the helm, he’s determined to make the museum as captivating for the next generation as it was for him.
“My interaction with the Science Museum started really early on,” Settle said. “We all just went when I was a kid. Everybody does at a certain point.”
That early exposure sparked a lifelong interest in history. By age 15, Settle had joined the Daviess County Bicentennial Committee under the mentorship of Lee and Aloma Dew. It was there, conducting research and writing for local history publications, that he found his voice.
“They saw that I had some skills, so they taught me how to write,” Settle said. “Eventually, when they put out the Bicentennial book, I had a chapter. I was 16 years old and a published author.”
That chapter, focused on the “U.S. Colored Troops” stationed in Owensboro during the Civil War, became the foundation of years of historical research that he pursued through college. Settle earned degrees in history and political science at Transylvania University and went on to law school at the University of Louisville. However, his heart remained with local history — and with Owensboro.
“Everything I’ve been telling people is, give me a year or two and you won’t recognize the place,” Settle said. “Any permanent exhibit is getting a revamp. Stuff is getting moved around. Some things are going away. It’s going to be a different museum.”
Among Settle’s longer-term goals is digitizing the museum’s extensive collection of historical documents, which are primarily used for research rather than display. While funding will be a factor, Settle is already working on creative solutions to help the museum evolve.
The museum’s former director, Kathy Olson, served in that capacity for 17 years. Settle acknowledged her legacy and said he feels encouraged and well-prepared thanks to her mentorship.
“Even when I was a teenager working at the museum, I was on the third floor the whole time, working in collections, working on research,” he said. “I wasn’t just sitting at the desk.”
Today, Settle is already mentoring the next generation, just like Dew and Olson did for him.
Art and history converge through new collaboration
Though they lead separate institutions, Hayden and Settle are increasingly finding themselves on the same page — and sometimes on the same phone call.
“We’ve had many conversations about many different things. It’s not maybe, it’s definitely — there’s no doubt,” Hayden said of collaboration.
Hayden added, “We feel like the Owensboro Museum of Science and History is our natural companion in preserving the cultural history of the region.”
That relationship is beginning to take shape through joint planning for upcoming exhibits, including those commemorating America’s 250th anniversary. Both museums house historically significant artifacts, including portraits, antique furniture, and rare documents, which may be combined for future displays that highlight the region’s deep ties to frontier and Revolutionary War-era history.
As Hayden put it, “You can’t really separate art and history. It’s not possible.”
Settle agreed: “Art is history. History is art. There’s no separating the two.”
Together, they’re hoping to make that connection more vivid than ever before. OL
