Appointments & departures

Director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Michael Brand, to step down

The Asian art scholar spent much of his tenure overseeing the museum's redevelopment project, Sydney Modern, which doubled the institution’s exhibition capacity

Darren Walker elected board president of US National Gallery of Art

Walker has led the New York-based Ford Foundation for the past 11 years

Musée des Arts Décoratifs director Christine Macel leaves for advisory role amid allegations of dysfunction at the museum

Two years after her appointment, the star curator described her early exit from the Paris museum as “a relief”

Hammer Museum names new leader to succeed longtime director Ann Philbin

Zoë Ryan, currently the director of the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, will take the helm at the Hammer in the new year

MoMA’s longtime director Glenn Lowry will step down in 2025

Lowry’s 30-year tenure at the museum included many milestones, from the merger that created MoMA PS1 to multiple renovations and expansions

Italy names new culture minister following appointments scandal

Alessandro Giuli, who heads up Rome's Maxxi museum, replaces Gennaro Sangiuliano in the right-wing government role

Pressure mounts in Slovakia as cultural workers announce nationwide strike alert

The "Cultural Strike" follows the dismissal of the directors of the Slovak National Gallery and the Slovak National Theatre in early August

After controversy, Tefaf appoints fifth managing director in four years

Dominique Savelkoul recently served as director of the Mu.Zee museum in Oostende, Belgium

Hirshhorn Museum hires its first curator of Latin American and Latin diasporic art

The Colombian curator José Roca has curated several major international biennials and was previously the adjunct curator of Latin American art at Tate

Former Frieze fair chief Victoria Siddall appointed director of London's National Portrait Gallery

Siddall will take up the role this autumn, becoming the first-ever woman to hold the position

V&A provenance expert heads to Art Institute of Chicago

Jacques Schuhmacher, who worked on several key restitution cases at the London museum, has taken up the role of executive director of provenance research

International arts community calls for reinstatement of Slovak National Gallery director

At least 360 professionals sign open letter in defence of Alexandra Kusá, who was sacked alongside the head of the national theatre

Amid $33m renovation project, Bronx Museum’s executive director departs to lead MFA St Petersburg

Klaudio Rodriguez, who has led the Bronx Museum since 2020, will take on his new role in Florida in October

Slovak National Gallery director dismissed by culture minister

Alexandra Kusá's removal follows the ouster of National Theatre director Matej Drlička

Kyla McMillan is The Armory Show’s new director

McMillan joins as the New York City fair, which was acquired by Frieze last summer, prepares for its 30th anniversary edition in September

Right-wing director of Warsaw contemporary art centre ousted by culture minister

Piotr Bernatowicz was selected by Poland's former Law and Justice government

Next up for former Warhol Museum director Patrick Moore: South by Southwest London

Moore will advise on the forthcoming, arts-centric edition of the festival in his new role as culture lead of private equity firm Panarae

MFA Boston director Matthew Teitelbaum will retire after ten-year stint

Teitelbaum has navigated one of the US’s most prominent art museums through a decade of renovations, revamped education initiatives, scandals and shutdowns

Gagosian’s chief operating officer Andrew Fabricant leaves gallery

Fabricant’s wife Laura Paulson, a former Christie's rainmaker who helped launch Gagosian Art Advisory, has also left

Hammer Museum gala draws artists, celebrities and a faculty protest

Ann Philbin’s last pre-retirement bash also set a record for attendance and fundraising

Art marketcomment

Leadership shuffles show auction houses and mega-galleries rethinking the trade

In a stubbornly stagnant market, the big players are searching for new ideas that will bring sustained growth

Executive director Nicole Berry leaving The Armory Show for senior development role at Los Angeles's Hammer Museum

Frieze's search to replace Berry, who has led The Armory Show since 2017, is already underway

Italy’s embattled junior culture minister resigns amid scandals

The critic, curator and commentator Vittorio Sgarbi was being pressured to resign amid multiple investigations into his conduct

Second curator of Indigenous art departs the Art Gallery of Ontario amid ongoing scandal

Taqralik Partridge, an associate curator of Indigenous art since 2022, has stepped down while the Toronto institution is still reeling from the sudden ouster of Wanda Nanibush

Iwona Blazwick stands down as Istanbul Biennial curator—event postponed until 2025

A row erupted last summer over transparency issues concerning her appointment

Friends of the Louvre chair forced to step down

Louis-Antoine Prat, a French art historian and Old Master drawings collector, has been accused of slandering a respected art dealer with antisemitic stereotypes in his new book

Phillips chief executive Stephen Brooks steps down after two years

Brooks, who joined the company in 2021, has left for personal reasons

There is no end to the museum exodus

Higher salaries are a major reason why mid-level museum workers are leaving for commercial gallery jobs, but instability caused by the Covid pandemic is also a factor

Italian museums undergo mass leadership reshuffle with Eike Schmidt out at the Uffizi

The Florence museum chief has been named director of Naples's Capodimonte with new leaders also appointed in Milan and Rome as part of right-wing government strategy

Five curators join Whitney Biennial team for the 2024 edition

The additional staff will programme sound art, film and performance events