Kelly Griffith-Daniel has an eye for art. Not only can she create it, but she travels around the world to get it – and deliver it.

 

A trip to Tokyo, Paris, Madrid or Belgium is all in a day’s work for Griffith-Daniel, who serves as Manager of Preservation Initiatives at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

 

“I oversee the entire collection – the housing, storage and care of it,” said Griffith-Daniel, a 1978 graduate of Bridgeport High School.

 

In addition to her in-house responsibilities of the museum’s 50,000 objects – everything from contemporary and deco art to ancient art of the Mediterranean - she many times serves as courier, fetching pieces of fine art from markets across the globe.

 

“Only a few people are qualified to serve as courier of the arts,” she said. “We go through certain steps to get to that point – training on how to condition report and care for artwork.”

 

Getting to that point requires a courier to do local, regional and domestic pickup trips before serving as an international courier.

 

“We have to be TSA (Transportation Security Administration) certified every year. That involves security checks at airports, etc.,” she said. “There is also testing here at the museum every year so we can screen our own cargo in order for it to go out on a passenger flight.”

 

The Indianapolis Museum of Art is an encyclopedic museum, featuring all types of art from many different areas.

 

“We have Asian art – from Japan, China and other countries, including 3D objects, as well as screen, scrolls and woodblock prints,” she said. “We have European and American paintings, contemporary art, deco art and anything considered decorative such as furniture or silver.”

 

The need for a courier to accompany a piece – or pieces – depends upon the value of the artwork. A protocol is utilized by a board of directors to make that decision, she said. Although Griffith-Daniel loves her international trips, she also values opportunities to travel within the states.

 

 “I’ve been on several domestic trips; one of my favorite was going to Washington DC to fetch a painting we had loaned out,” she said.

Griffith-Daniel follows a piece of art from the time it leaves the museum doors until it arrives at its destination.

 

“I have to have it in my view unless I know it’s secured in a locked area,” she said. “I’ve even crawled to the back of the plane to make sure it’s actually on the plane and in a good location.”

 

Griffith-Daniel said she loves that part of the job.

 

“I get to go behind the scenes. That’s one of the most interesting things about it,” she said. “I get to go on the tarmac in the cargo area – all those things that most people don’t get to see and I get to meet artists around the world.”

 

She usually travels alone, but sometimes makes the trip with other couriers.

 

“I went to Italy back in December and there were four of us who came from the U.S.,” she said. “They grouped us all together on a cargo flight so we went through the whole process together.”

 

Her first international courier trip was to Tokyo to deliver an exhibition. During that trip, she traveled with the curator of the exhibition.

 

“He was a curator of Japanese art and a great person to go with,” she said. “He lived in Japan and was able to show me a lot of things most people wouldn’t see as tourists.”

Griffith-Daniel’s art tracking destination depends upon the type of exhibitions the museum is featuring at the time.

 

“Right now we have a Dream Cars exhibition of conceptual designs,” she said. “Indianapolis is a huge car community with the all the races that go on here.

 

It’s an interesting job and one she never imagined she would hold.

 

“It just worked out that way so it’s a good place to be,” she said. “I feel like I’m at a good point in my life – having raised my family. My boys are grown and doing great so I have opportunity to travel. When they were younger and involved in activities, I always felt very torn about traveling. I waited until my second son was in his second year at Indiana University before signing up as a courier.”

 

Many times, there is only a couple weeks’ notice for an international trip.

 

“For those who have families and young children, that’s a little harder to do,” she said.

 

Griffith-Daniel’s next scheduled trip is to retrieve a painting that she delivered to Italy in December. She plans to expand that trip, doing some extensive site seeing while she’s on the job.

 

“I love Italy so much so I’m going to take advantage and spend some time in the Florence and Venice area.”

 

Griffith-Daniel was groomed for her current position through years of work in the arts. She obtained a degree in fine art and design from the John Herron School of Art through Indianapolis University. She and her husband Doug thereafter worked as independent artists and owned their own gallery and frame shop.

 

“We carried a lot of our own art, as well as commercial art,” said Griffith-Daniel, who specializes in mixed media and photography and also promoted her artwork on the local fair circuit. “Because of the economy, one of us needed to get a real job and that pushed me to find something.”

 

Before assuming her current position at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Griffith-Daniel did contract work for the museum, as well as the Indiana State Museum, for about 10 years.

 

“Usually in a museum, collections are divided into departments. Those departments are headed by a curator,” she said. “More than half of our collection is works on paper, like prints and water colors. That was my first job, managing that part of the collection.”

 

Eventually, she became manager of the museum’s entire collection.

 

Griffith-Daniel said she doesn’t create many artworks these days.

 

“My creative outlets are gardening, antiquing and walking my dogs,” she said. “I’ve always been interested in photography so I still try to do a lot of that. I use Facebook as my photo journal, posting photos I take on trips to document them.”

Griffith-Daniel met her husband Doug Daniel while attending the John Herron School of Art. He now serves as a practicing artist and adjunct professor at the Indianapolis campus of Indiana University. They have raised two sons, Isaac – who graduated from Franklin College Pulliam School of Journalism and works in the marketing/public relations field – and Riley, who is studying political science at Indiana University with plans to attend law school.

 

That, she said, is the accomplishment for which she is most proud.

 

“If I didn’t do anything else in my life, my husband and I raised two productive people to put back into our society. That’s the best thing I have ever done and I’m very proud of them,” she said.

 

Griffith-Daniel said her own mother, Shirley Shamblen Griffith, provided major inspiration in her art career.

 

“I remember taking art classes when I was little and she always encouraged me to be creative and explore that side of me,” said Griffith-Daniel of her mom, who passed away four years ago.  “I think of her every day.”

 

Also providing inspiration was Mrs. Sue Garrett, her English and art teacher at Bridgeport High School.

 

“She was very instrumental in my decision to go on to art school,” she said. “I think of her often and appreciate all of her support.”

 

Bridgeport High School and the Bridgeport community provided an important foundation for Griffith-Daniel, she said.

 

“It was a great place to go to school and spend my adolescent years,” she said. “My family moved around a lot and didn’t live anyplace longer than five or six years. I consider Bridgeport my hometown, having spent those formative years there. It’s very important to have that type of community to grow up in.”

 

When Bridgeport comes to mind, Griffith-Daniel said she thinks of the safety and freedom it provided. She also cherishes memories of owning and riding horses here - another one of her passions.

 

“I try to get out and ride once in a while,” she said. “It’s a dream to someday have a horse again.”

 

Interestingly enough, only art and horses require a courier when traveling, Griffith-Daniel said. That makes both very valuable and special, especially to her.

 

Griffith-Daniel’s dad Tom currently lives in Palm City, Fla., her brothers Tom and Mark live in Boca Raton, Fla. and Fairmont, respectively.