San Jose Museum of Art Executive Director S. Sayre Batton announced Tuesday that she will be stepping down at the end of May, capping a significant era for the prestigious cultural institution.

Batton, who will go on to manage independent projects, has been part of the museum’s leadership team for nine years, including eight as the Oshman executive director. She certainly left her mark on the museum’s efforts toward diversity and inclusion in its exhibits, the artists it honored and the role it played in the community.

Under Batton’s leadership, the museum expanded its boundaries outside the walls of the building at the corner of San Fernando and Market streets and became an institutional partner for several cultural events in San Jose including San Jose Jazz’s SummerFest and the summer CityDance series sponsored by San Jose’s Office of Cultural Affairs. Not every decision was universally loved — some still miss the Dale Chihuly sculpture in the museum’s entry that was replaced by Pae White’s “Noisy Blushes” — but art isn’t made to be universally loved.

Batton also was a big part of a push to energize the Museum of Art’s commitment to acquisitions, and the museum presented more than 50 exhibitions during her tenure. But one of the most important may be among her last, and it’s one that weaves those two threads of her time as executive director. In early March, the museum will unveil new main floor galleries dedicated to exhibiting the museum’s permanent collection.

The inaugural show, “Tending and Dreaming: Stores from the Collection,” will include works such as Hung Liu’s “Resident Alien” and Louise Nevelson’s “Sky Cathedral,” along with other works from Tishan Hsu, Yolanda López and Sarah Sze.

The trustees of the 55-year-old museum plan a nationwide search for Batton’s successor. In a statement, Batton said it’s been an honor to contribute to strengthening the museum’s collections, programs and connection to the community.

“The debut of ‘Tending and Dreaming’ is particularly meaningful to me, as it reflects our vision of making SJMA’s collection more accessible and presenting the museum as a dynamic, living space for all,” Batton said. “With this inaugural exhibition, many of the aspirations I’ve held with the curatorial team for the museum have come to fruition. While the decision to step away was not easy, I am proud to be leaving on a high note, with great pride in what we have accomplished together.”

FOUNTAIN BLUES GETS A BOOST >> The San Jose Fountain Blues & Brews Festival, now heading into its 42nd year, will expand to two days this year, filling Plaza de Cesar Chavez with music June 15-16. Suzanne St. John Crane, president of the Fountain Blues Foundation Board, says it’ll be Fountain Blues Festival 2.0 — a big upgrade for downtown’s live music scene for sure.

The notion was pushed by San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who attended last year’s festival and no doubt heard from board members how difficult it is these days to make one-day festivals pencil out financially. The mayor didn’t just toss out the idea, though, he hosted a reception last Wednesday night at Five Points Cocktail Bar in San Pedro Square for a group of community and tech leaders to raise enough money to produce a two-day festival. They blew past the fundraising goal by nearly 50 percent.

You can check for updates on the festival lineup, as well as activities around festival weekend, at fountainblues.com.

FLYING HIGH >> The Pan-African flag was raised at San Jose City Hall on Friday evening, followed by a reception that packed the Janet Gray Hayes Rotunda to mark the start of Black History Month.

The event, hosted by the office of San Jose City Councilmember Rosemary Kamei and the San Jose/Silicon Valley NAACP, included a stirring rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by Bay Area jazz vocalist Tiffany Austin and a powerful tribute by Pastor Horacio Jones to the Rev. Jethroe “Jeff” Moore, the leader of the local NAACP chapter who died unexpectedly in December.