The only constant in the art world is change, whether it’s artwork changing hands, pieces breaking auction records or people moving from one institution to another. What follows are some of the most notable role changes recently announced across the art sphere.
Agustín Arteaga named new director and CEO of Crocker Art Museum
When Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento—the oldest art museum in the western U.S.—announced that director and CEO Lial A. Jones would be retiring after twenty-five years with the institution, it wasn’t immediately clear who her successor would be. Now we know Agustín Arteaga will step into the role on July 1, 2025. Garry Maisel, president of the Crocker Art Museum Association Board of Directors, told the press that Arteaga’s “impressive record of innovation, inclusivity, and institutional excellence makes him the ideal person to guide the Crocker forward.”
Arteaga arrives from the Dallas Museum of Art, where he has served as director since 2016, during which time he ushered in a period of expanded collections, broader engagement and sharper equity initiatives. Before that, he led the Museo Nacional de Arte in Mexico City and the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico and was the founding director of MALBA in Buenos Aires. His influence stretches beyond museum walls—he sits on the board of the Andy Warhol Foundation and is an active member of the Association of Art Museum Directors and the TEFAF’s global advisory board.
Former Tate Modern chief Frances Morris appointed inaugural board chair of the Gallery Climate Coalition
From 2016 to 2023, Frances Morris served as director of Tate Modern; now, she’s bringing her skills to the Gallery Climate Coalition as chair of the organization’s Board of Trustees. She steps into the role at a “pivotal juncture” in the GCC’s plans to reduce sector-wide CO₂ emissions by 50 percent by 2030. “Frances’s bold leadership and impressive track record of driving tangible climate action within a major institution, along with her unwavering commitment to systemic change, make her the ideal person to help lead GCC forward at this critical juncture,” Heath Lowndes, GCC co-founder and director, said in a statement.
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Morris, a respected museum curator, art historian and writer, has a track record of promoting environmental responsibility in institutional practice. In addition to helping establish Tate Modern as one of the world’s leading art institutions, she also played a key role in Tate’s 2019 Climate Emergency declaration. She introduced a 50 percent carbon reduction target for the institution, plus a train-first travel policy, green energy initiatives and sustainable food sourcing for Tate’s restaurants.
MoMA named Christophe Cherix as Glenn D. Lowry’s successor
Swiss-born curator Christophe Cherix will take the reins at the Museum of Modern Art this September, becoming the first new director in nearly three decades following Lowry’s transformative tenure. He was unanimously confirmed by the museum’s board after a focused six-month international search. Lowry, MoMA’s longest-serving director, has worked closely with Cherix for more than fifteen years and welcomed the news. “Christophe is a gifted and talented curator, and I look forward to seeing the museum evolve and thrive under his able direction,” he told the press.
Cherix’s career includes stints as curator of prints at the Musée d’Art et Histoire in Geneva and a residency at LACMA while a Fellow at the Center for Curatorial Leadership. He joined MoMA in 2007 and, in 2013, was named Robert Lehman Foundation Chief Curator of Drawings and Prints following a departmental reorganization that combined the Department of Prints and Illustrated Books (of which he had been chief curator since 2010). He played a central role in integrating and expanding the collection.
PS21 announced Vallejo Gantner as artistic and executive director
As artistic and executive director of the contemporary arts center located in Chatham, New York, within the Hudson Valley region, Vallejo Gantner will oversee the continued expansion of the organization’s interdisciplinary programming across its 100-acre campus. He is, according to PS21, already at work deepening ties with arts and cultural partners regionally, nationally and globally. “Vallejo brings a vision that goes far beyond enriching our stage,” said Alice Kocis and Louis Hedgecock, co-presidents of PS21’s board of directors. “His experience in contemporary performing arts, paired with his passion for strengthening relationships and pushing the boundaries of our institution’s role within greater Columbia County, promises a future where art and community grow together.”
Gantner arrives at PS21 with more than 25 years of leadership experience at arts organizations in the U.S., Australia and Ireland. From 2021 to 2023, he served as director of creative partnerships at ONX Studio, a hybrid production and exhibition space in New York for immersive and XR artists. Before that, he was the artistic executive director of the Onassis Foundation USA from 2019 to 2021, overseeing programming between Athens, New York and Los Angeles. As a curatorial advisor for BAM, Gantner supported a diverse roster of experimental artists and performance program ideas. He currently sits on the boards of the VII Photo Agency, In Between Time in Bristol, The Chocolate Factory Theater in New York and several philanthropic institutions in Australia.
James Fuentes appointed Katrin Lewinsky as partner
James Fuentes recently announced the appointment of Katrin Lewinsky as partner, which is a heck of a way to celebrate the fact that she’s been with the gallery for a decade. Lewinsky was named senior director in 2018 after three years as director, during which she led strategic growth across the gallery’s program and cultivated enduring relationships with institutions, curators and collectors around the world. Her contributions have included securing major museum acquisitions in the U.S. and abroad and playing a central role in the gallery’s artist representation, exhibitions, publications and art fair participation.
Before joining James Fuentes, Lewinsky served as a director at Gladstone Gallery in New York. Earlier, in Johannesburg, she was director at Goodman Gallery, cofounder of the Co-Op gallery and managing director of the country’s first biennial art and architecture festival in 2010. She began her institutional career in Berlin as director at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art, which at the time was an affiliate of MoMA PS1.
Vancouver Art Gallery CEO and executive director Anthony Kiendl stepped down
Late last month, the Vancouver Art Gallery confirmed that Anthony Kiendl has stepped down as CEO and executive director, ending a tenure just shy of five years. During his time at the helm of the institution, Kiendl oversaw a transformation of the gallery’s programming and significantly expanded its donor base, membership and attendance. He also led the institution through a turbulent chapter in its planned relocation to a new downtown building—a project ultimately shelved after the budget surged by 50 percent to $600 million. “He had personal and professional directions he wanted to pursue, and it seemed to us to be an opportune moment to go in different directions,” said Jon Stovel, chairman of the gallery’s board of trustees, in a statement to the Vancouver Sun. “We’re not sharing specifics of the internal considerations that were discussed, but it just seemed like the right time for both parties.”
Originally from Winnipeg, Kiendl served as executive director of Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art from 2006 to 2013, where he led a capital development campaign that culminated in the 2010 opening of a new facility shared with the University of Winnipeg. Prior to that, he held leadership positions as executive director and CEO of the Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina, director of visual arts at The Banff Centre and curator of the Dunlop Art Gallery. In 2011, he was appointed curator of “Contour: Biennale of the Moving Image” in Mechelen, Belgium.
Denise Markonish joins the Madison Square Park Conservancy as chief curator
Denise Markonish has been appointed chief curator of Madison Square Park Conservancy’s public art program, succeeding Brooke Kamin Rapaport. Markonish joins the MSPC after an eighteen-year tenure at MASS MoCA, where she most recently served as the institution’s first-ever chief curator. “As a seasoned curator, she understands artists’ needs and how to integrate their visions into our park and neighborhood,” said executive director Holly Leicht in a statement. “We believe she is the perfect choice for this next chapter in the program’s history.”
Markonish already shares a history with the Conservancy, having worked with the organization to bring Martin Puryear’s Big Bling to North Adams following its original installation in the park in 2016. Since joining MASS MoCA in 2007, Markonish has curated major exhibitions with artists including Nick Cave, Lily Cox-Richard, Teresita Fernández, Jeffrey Gibson, Joseph Grigely, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Amy Hauft, Glenn Kaino, Marc Swanson, Nari Ward and Amy Yoes. Before her time in North Adams, she served as curator at Artspace in New Haven and at the Fuller Museum of Art (now known as Fuller Craft Museum) in Brockton. Her upcoming exhibition, “Vincent Valdez: Just a Dream…,” a 25-year survey co-organized with the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, is set to open at MASS MoCA on May 24, 2025.
Emanuela Tarizzo named director of Frieze Masters
This month, Emanuela Tarizzo stepped into her new role as director of Frieze Masters in London. She succeeds Nathan Clements-Gillespie, who has led the fair since 2018. “We are delighted to welcome Emanuela,” said Kristell Chadé, executive director of fairs at Frieze. “Her extensive knowledge of the art market, combined with a rigorous approach to historical art, will further strengthen the fair’s unique position as a bridge between past and present. Under her leadership, Frieze Masters will not only continue to be an essential platform for defining works of art history but also deepen relationships with leading museums and collectors whose insight and ambition shape the field.”
Tarizzo brings to Frieze Masters a broad international network built through years of collaboration with dealers, collectors, museums and scholars. Known for her research-driven curatorial approach and widely respected for her ability to foster meaningful relationships across the cultural sector and her commitment to scholarship and connoisseurship, she most recently worked as an independent art advisor and previously served as gallery director at Tomasso in London.
Shawn Yuan joins the Norton Museum of Art as senior curator of Asian art
The Norton Museum of Art, Florida’s largest art museum, welcomed Shawn Yuan as senior curator of Asian art earlier this week (April 7). He succeeds Laurie Barnes, who is retiring after nineteen years overseeing the museum’s Asian holdings. Yuan will lead the development, growth and interpretation of the Asian Collection, which includes more than 700 works across a range of mediums, with a core focus on Chinese art. His arrival also signals the museum’s expanded commitment to collecting from other Asian cultures, including Japan, Korea and India. “We are impressed by Shawn’s enthusiasm for our collections and his passion for making these venerable works of art relatable to modern audiences,” said Ghislain d’Humières, director and CEO, in a statement. “I look forward to working with him and collaborating on the development of innovative, original exhibition programming that expands the Norton’s storied Chinese holdings and welcomes new audiences through the focused inclusion of work from diverse Asian cultures.”
Yuan comes to the Norton from the World Heritage Center in San Antonio and brings experience from prior roles at the San Antonio Museum of Art, the Oklahoma State University Museum of Art and the Crow Museum of Asian Art at the University of Texas, Dallas. He has curated a number of exhibitions, including “Samurai Spirit: Swords, Accessories, and Paintings,” “Creative Splendor: Japanese Bamboo Baskets from the Thomas Collection,” “Elegant Pursuits: The Arts of China’s Educated Elite, 1400–1900” and “Korean Ceramics from the San Antonio Museum of Art Collection.”
