Noah Horowitz, who has served as Executive Director of The Armory Show since 2011, has announced that he is accepting a position as Director Americas for Art Basel, placing him in charge of the Miami Beach edition of the fair.  “The Americas have been a leading center in the art world for many decades, and the region continues to show distinctive and ongoing growth in many different countries,” Horowitz says. “I look forward to working with collectors and arts institutions throughout the two continents – from Canada to South America, and across the entirety of the United States – in an effort to bring the fair in Miami Beach to ever-greater heights.” (more…)

Critic and Educator Nicolas Bourriaud has been dismissed from his post as the director of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts by Fleur Pellerin, French minister of culture, following a lengthy exchange over the direction of the school.  “Dear friends, the Minister [of Culture] has just fired me ‘for reasons related to a change of direction’ of her politics,” Bourriaud wrote on Facebook.  “Not a single factual argument in the course of a forty-five-minute discussion.” (more…)

Josef Helfenstein, the Director of Houston’s Menil Collection for the past 12 years, is leaving his position to head the Kunstmuseum Basel, the New York Times reports.  “It’s a very hard decision for me to leave the Menil – I love this institution enormously,” Helfenstein says. “I think we have accomplished a lot, so it was kind of a natural moment.” (more…)

The New Museum has appointed Lauren Cornell, who recently co-curated the 2015 Triennial alongside artist Ryan Trecartin, as Curator and Associate Director, Technology Initiatives.  “Through her work at the New Museum and at Rhizome first, Lauren Cornell has been tracking the influence of technology on art and culture at large,” says Massimiliano Gioni, the Museum’s Artistic Director.  “In her new position, she will help the Museum take an even more active role in engaging with the present and the future.”  (more…)

The Art Newspaper sits down with Guggenheim Director Richard Armstrong to discuss a range of issues with the Guggenheim’s ongoing expansion plans in Finland and Abu Dhabi, including pressures to improve labor conditions through the sub-contractors working on the project.  “These are all questions that come under sovereignty; I feel unequipped to answer them,” Armstrong says.  “I can state our position: we are in constant dialogue with TDIC and other intergovernmental agencies. It really is top of my mind.” (more…)

Leo Fitzpatrick, the former star of Larry Clark’s film Kids, and longtime director of the Nate Lowman project space Home Alone 2, will join Marlborough Chelsea as a gallery director.  “I’m very proud of what I was able to accomplish with Home Alone over those three years, but generally it was me taking art on the subway, trying to put on these shows,” Fitzpatrick says. “I’m really excited about having help, and people to bounce ideas off of. We can really do big things. If I was able to do so much with so little, imagine what I can do here.” (more…)

Sara Reisman, director of New York City’s Percent for Art program within the department of Cultural Affairs, has been appointed as the new artistic director of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation, where she will curate events and oversee the Foundation’s new “Art and Social Justice initiative.”  (more…)

Tate Modern Director Chris Dercon will leave the museum to head up Berlin’s experimental theatre landmark, the Volksbühne in 2017, The Guardian reports.  “Chris Dercon is helping to open Tate Modern to a wider world and more diverse audiences through his support for a more international programme, photography, live performance and film,” says Tate head Nicolas Serota. “We look forward to working with him on the opening of the new Tate Modern and until he takes up his appointment in Berlin in 2017.” (more…)

The Morgan Library has named Colin Bailey as its new director, who has previously served as the chief curator of the Frick Collection.  “We should be able to do a little better,” says Morgan President Lawrence R. Ricciardi. “The programming is there. It’s just a question of getting the word out and getting people in the door.” (more…)

The New York Times profiles Joanne Heyler, the leader of Los Angeles’s Broad Foundation, and her role in establishing Eli Broad’s vision for his soon to open museum.  “She’s thinking about how to nest this institution in the community, how to engage the broader culture, how to broaden its audience and what the experience is going to be like for someone going to this museum,” says Lisa Dennison, former Guggenheim director and a chairwoman of Sotheby’s. “The book shop, lighting, conservation, storage, the plan for the opening show — it’s all Joanne.” (more…)

In the wake of the controversy over its canceled Hermann Nitsch show, Mexico City’s Museo Jumex has appointed Julieta González as chief curator and interim director, replacing the departed Patrick Charpenel.  “Although Patrick is now moving on, the bonds between him and Museo Jumex are indissoluble,” said Jumex heir Eugenio López Alonso. “I am certain we will have the opportunity to collaborate with him in the future.” (more…)

Gabriele Finaldi, the deputy director of the Prado museum in Madrid, will take over for Nicholas Penny as the head of the UK’s National Gallery this August.  “I feel deeply honored to take on the directorship of the National Gallery after Nicholas Penny,” Finaldi, who formerly worked as a curator at the museum from 1992 to 2002, says.  “This is a world-class collection in a world-class city and I eagerly look forward to working with trustees and the staff to strengthen the gallery’s bond with the public and its international standing.” (more…)

Frieze Art Fair has announced that Abby Bangser will take the newly formed Artistic Director position for the Americas and Asia, working to support the organization’s director, Victoria Siddall.  “Abby brings fantastic gallery, institutional and collector relationships to this new role,” Siddall said in a statement, “and I am thrilled she is joining our team. She has shown her passion for and commitment to Frieze and her insight as an American will be invaluable to us, ensuring that the fairs continue to deliver at the highest levels.” (more…)

The Hirshhorn’s new director, Melissa Chiu, is profiled in the New York Times this week, highlighting her aims at expanding the Hirshhorn’s international and experimental art offerings, and her efforts at placing the museum in the spotlight as a major patron of experimental works and forms.  “The whole art world ecology has changed,” says Ms. Chiu. “The art world has become truly transnational.” (more…)

In another sign of increased confidence in new Director Philip Vergne, MOCA has added 4 new seats to its board of trustees, among them artist Mark Bradford, public policy strategist Heather Podesta, and art collector Cathy Vedovi.  “I don’t get the feeling that this is the new MOCA, and we don’t want to talk about the old MOCA,” says Bradford.  “It feels like we’re here now, and we’re moving forward, and we have a history.” (more…)

Marina Abramovic publicly reached out to director Lars Von Trier this week, telling the director that she wishes to work with him on an upcoming project.  “You really bring the actors on the edge of complete nervous breakdowns,” she says. “Because I am a performance artist, I understand very well what you are doing.”  (more…)

The Wall Street Journal interviews Jessica Morgan this week, the newly appointed director of New York’s Dia Foundation.  Morgan, who takes over for Philippe Vergne, recounts her earliest memories of art in her home, and some of her first ambitious projects, including a 2003 show at the Tate Modern.  “It was a bit of a grand failure, but we tried valiantly to make an exhibition that responded to the particular circumstances of Tate Modern and the notion of the museum as a public space.” (more…)

Dia Art Foundation has announced Jessica Morgan (curator of international art at London’s Tate Modern) will take over for Philippe Vergne as director of the New York arts organization.  Morgan has a challenging road ahead of her, including stalled plans for Dia to build a new museum for its collection between Chelsea and the Meatpacking District, and will seek to negotiate the demands of such a space with the foundation’s longstanding commitment to living artists.  “It has to be a relationship that’s relevant to the current moment,” she says. “It can’t rest on a notion of its past.” (more…)

A trailer has been released for the film Mr. Turner, an upcoming biopic that centers around the life and work of Joseph Mallrond Turner.  The film is directed by respected British filmmaker Mike Leigh (Secrets and Lies, Naked) and earned lead actor Timothy Spall a Best Actor award at Cannes for his performance.  Mr. Turner opens in the US this month at the Telluride and New York Film Festivals.   (more…)

Art Basel Hong Kong Director Magnus Renfrew is reportedly leaving his post with the growing art fair to join Bonhams Auction House in the role of deputy chairman, Asia and director of fine arts, Asia.  “Renfrew will be responsible for defining the strategy for Bonhams in Asia relating to the fine arts and will oversee the established departments of classical, Modern and contemporary art in Asia,” Bonhams stated in a press release. (more…)

The New Museum has promoted curator Massimiliano Gioni to the position of Artistic Director, putting him at the forefront of the institution’s short-term and long-term planning. “Widely recognized as one of the most influential and admired curators working today, Massimiliano represents the New Museum around the world at major art events and through his lectures at many international venues,” says Director Lisa Phillips.

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Nicholas Penny has announced his retirement from directing London’s National Gallery, leaving a remarkably successful legacy behind him.  Penny, who brought attendance up to record highs during his tenure (including a 6 million visitor count last year) is planning to step down next year after a replacement has been found.  “Following my retirement I have many plans, but chiefly look forward to spending more time with my family, friends and books,” he said. (more…)

Recently appointed Stedelijk Museum director Beatrix Ruf is interviewed in The Art Newspaper this week, discussing her vision for the museum, her previous work at Kunsthalle Zurich, and what she thinks arts institutions should be focusing on in the 21st Century.  “The big general question for us all is how museums should be made to function,” she says. “We are all looking into the meanings of heritage and the interplay between the caretaking of heritage and how to develop collecting further.” (more…)

The Musée Picasso in Paris has announced Laurent Le Bon, currently a the head of the Centre Pompidou-Metz, as its newest director, following the dismissal of Anne Baldassari earlier this year.   (more…)