New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum has named art historian Mariët Westermann as its new director and CEO.
Westermann, the first woman to hold the position, succeeds Richard Armstrong, who announced his departure from the institution last year.
“We cast a very wide net and interviewed extensively to identify the right person for the Guggenheim at this time,” J. Tomilson Hill, the Guggenheim’s board chair, said in a statement.
“Dr Westermann brings a unique set of qualities and experiences to this critical role – a wide ranging world view, experience in navigating multiple stakeholders and critical issues across geographies, all rooted in a deeply held belief in scholarship, excellence, and the power of arts and culture to inspire and connect.”
First woman to lead the Guggenheim
She will officially begin her role on 1 June 2024. Westermann will direct the Guggenheim’s flagship museum in New York, and oversee the Guggenheim foundation and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice.
Additionally, Westermann will work alongside the directors of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, and the future Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Currently, Westermann serves as the vice chancellor of NYU Abu Dhabi. She oversees all academic, administrative, financial and operational affairs.
“It is a great honor to be joining the Guggenheim, a unique institution with a beautiful mission dedicated to modern and contemporary art in four distinctive museums on three continents,” said Westermann.
“Each of the museums exists to create opportunities for anyone to engage with the transformative and connective power of art and artists, from New York to Bilbao to Venice to Abu Dhabi.”
Previously, Westermann served as executive vice president at the Mellon Foundation and as a faculty member and director at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.
She was also associate director of research and academic programs at the Clark Art Institute, and a faculty member at Rutgers University.
“I have been blessed with wonderful experiences as an art historian, global educator, curator, philanthropist, and academic leader,” Westermann added.
“The kind of complexity and high aspiration that have been so motivating to me in these prior roles has prepared me to help the Guggenheim realize its full potential as a constellation of museums, united in one mission and grounded fully in their local environments and communities.”
Images courtesy of the Guggenheim
