Forging Community: Madison Miller ’14 Invites Memphis to Rust Hall

When the Metal Museum opens its new campus in Overton Park’s historic Rust Hall on September 5, Madison Miller ’14 will celebrate more than a major professional milestone. She will watch a building that has been part of her life since childhood begin an entirely new chapter. 

“The expansion into Overton Park has certainly been my proudest professional achievement to date,” said Miller. “It's especially meaningful because this building has been part of my life since I was born. My parents both worked and taught here for more than 30 years. It's where I grew up. To now have the opportunity to help transform it into the Metal Museum's new home has been one of the greatest honors of not just my career, but my life.” 

As the museum’s Director of Development and Communications, Miller has spent the last several years working alongside Executive Director Carissa Hussong, mother of Grayson ’17 and Phoebe ’20 Lusk-Hussong, to build support and excitement surrounding the Metal Museum’s move from its longtime home on the Mississippi bluff to the heart of Overton Park. 

Rain or shine, Miller has spent her weekends and evenings building the support and excitement that will welcome the museum to its new home, the former Memphis College of Art’s Rust Hall.

“I have walked through Rust Hall—leading architects and investors through old classrooms and exhibition spaces—more times than I can count,” she remarked with a laugh. 

Building community has remained a guiding priority for Miller since her time at St. Mary’s. “One of the greatest lessons I took away from St. Mary's is the importance of relationships and stewardship,” explained Miller. 

“The St. Mary's network is real, and it's strong. The care the school shows for its students doesn't end at graduation. The continued outreach, the relationships, and the sense of belonging begin the moment you walk through the doors and continue long afterward. Years later, you still feel welcomed and connected,” she said. 

Those lessons continue to shape the way Miller approaches her work at the Metal Museum.

“The belonging I found at St. Mary’s has shaped the way I approach my work. I hope the people who support and engage with the Metal Museum feel that same sense of belonging, that they know they are valued, remembered, and always welcome.”

The Metal Museum is one of the few museums in the world that showcases works of metal art. As the museum grows to offer more classes and display more art every year, the original landlocked campus, nestled into the bluffside in Downtown Memphis, is running out of space. Museum leadership has been looking for ways to expand its footprint since at least 2014. It wasn’t until 2018 that the idea to move into Rust Hall emerged. After over ten years of planning, the move this fall will more than triple its gallery space and offer more classrooms and workshops than ever before. 

However, this meant years of renovations to a space that had previously been the home of Memphis College of Art. The recently completed renovation removed a dining hall, turned classrooms into galleries and collections storage, and added a major expansion, including workshop spaces, state-of-the-art studios, and a new smithy and foundry. 

In addition to their regular year-round programming, Miller has spent the last few years managing Metal Museum communications with the City of Memphis, architects and engineers, and even the Overton Park Shell to ensure the museum opens with its best foot forward.

In 2025, Miller was honored as one of the Memphis Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 for her work as Director of Development and Communication at the Metal Museum. She says the recognition took her by surprise, but she credits St. Mary’s for helping her become the competent leader she is today. 

“St. Mary's changed the way I cared about my work and the way I approached the things I put into the world,” she explained. “My teachers taught me that your work is a reflection of who you are, and if you're going to do something, do it in a way that makes you proud to put it out into the world. That lesson has stayed with me ever since. It takes consistency and practice, but striving for excellence, paying attention to the details, and remembering how each piece contributes to the bigger picture is something I continue to work toward every day, both professionally and personally.” 

Miller recently reconnected with former teachers and current students working on the Memphis Legacy Project to document the building before it opens to the public. You can read their stories and view their photography here. 

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Story by Kate Prillaman '23