Nathalie Bondil is the exhibitions and museum director at the Institut du Monde Arabe (Institute for the Arab World) in Paris. She is an international museologist and art historian with more than two decades of experience and a strong dedication to education, art therapy, inclusiveness, and diversity. Bondil is a specialist in sculpture and modern art as well as in global and decolonised art history. In her current role, she is leading a new expansion project at the Institut du Monde Arabe called “The New IMA Museum”.
One nominator said: “Nathalie Bondil has changed the art museum world in the direction of “humanism”…Over 20 years Nathalie has demonstrated a flair for new interdisciplinary exhibitions such as her remarkable Picasso exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts which focused on the influence of African art on the world’s most famous modern artist.
“She has overseen the conception and programming of a significant number of multidisciplinary and successful exhibitions on music, cinema, and fashion as well as traditional fine arts exhibitions, which have toured in 35 cities worldwide.”
One of her most notable achievements is the recognition of museotherapy, showing the many health benefits of museum attendance and participation. She was instrumental in bringing in a new scheme in Quebec where doctors could prescribe free museum visits as a means of helping improve their patient’s mental health. At the time, she said:
“I am convinced that in the 21st century, culture will be what physical activity was for health in the 20th century. Cultural experiences will benefit health and wellness, just as engaging in sports contributes to fitness.”
She established a studio in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts building for healthy art activities and helped to bring in a course in museotherapy at the University of Montreal and at the Ecole du Louvre. Bondil is a frequent speaker at various international art conferences and seminars and a member of the French National ICOM Committee.