The Hirshhorn has announced that Australian-born, veteran director of the Asia Society Museum, Melissa Chiu, will take the helm as the Museum’s new director, bringing a strong background in video and new media art to the post.  “I am very excited,” Chiu said. “It’s an amazing institution.” (more…)

The Financial Times takes an inside look at the recently opened second location of the Long Museum in Shanghai, operated by Director Wang Wei and her husband Liu Yiqian.  “Our idea initially was to have only one museum,” Wang says, “but the government came to us, encouraged us to open another and gave us a discount on the land, on condition that we make a cultural project. I probably would have been happy with one.” (more…)

The New York Times speaks with MoMA Director Glenn Lowry this week, evaluating his occasionally disputed decisions at the head of the museum, and the vast increases in attendance that he has seen during his time as museum head.  “Obviously I’m deeply empathetic to the feelings that that has elicited from a community we really care about,” Lowry says. “On the other hand, sometimes you have to make really tough decisions if you think they’re right.”  (more…)

MOCA’s newly appointed director Philippe Vergne will assume the Director position at MOCA starting on March 10th, the LA Times reports.  MOCA announced the director’s start date via a press email this week. Vergne’s start date was accompanied by news of two new board members at the Museum: Maurice Marciano and Lilly Tartikoff Karatz, as well as a new endowment fundraising goal of $150 million. (more…)

The LA Times has published an in-depth profile of newly announced MOCA Director Philippe Vergne, examining his “collegial” arts background, and his vision for a new, “Artist Enabling” Museum.  Particularly of note is Vergne’s plans to refraine from curating shows himself.  “My role as a director is to enable curators to be what they are at the highest level. By doing that, you enable the artist,” he says. (more…)

Philippe Vergne, the current director of the Dia Art Foundation has been selected to replace Jeffrey Deitch as the head of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art.  Vergne has previously worked on the 2006 Whitney Biennial, and also served briefly as the head of the François Pinault Foundation.  “The most important challenge for the new director,” former director Richard Koshalek says, “is to raise the standard of expectations of the museum within this community and beyond, and that means new, original ideas for the future.” (more…)

Filmmaker and Video Artist Steve McQueen is profiled in The Guardian this week, talking about his inspirations, his childhood dyslexia, and his personal reflections on the history of slavery.  “All I remember feeling was a real sense of shame and embarrassment about it,” he says. “We can deal with the second world war and the Holocaust and so forth and what not, but this side of history, maybe because it was so hideous, people just do not want to see. People do not want to engage.” (more…)

The Financial Times continues its ongoing “Breakfast with the FT” series with Nicholas Penny, director of the National Gallery, talking about the challenges of public interest, his opinions on contemporary art, and the role he sees the National Gallery taking in education and advocacy.  “I don’t believe art up to the present should be taught at university,” he says. “Because of consumer demand, the explosion of teaching of contemporary art now is colossal – and it is achieved at the expense of older art. We at the National Gallery should do more to become a magnet for scholarship.” (more…)

The Qatar Museums Authority has announced that Sheikha Amna bint Abdulaziz bin Jassim Al-Thani will take the position of Director for the National Museum of Qatar.  While an opening date for the new museum has yet to be announced, the museum’s construction is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2014. (more…)

A number of artists who left the MOCA Board  in 2012 have joined the search team for selecting a new director for Los Angeles’s contemporary art museum.  John Baldessari, Barbara Kruger, Catherine Opie and Ed Ruscha have all signed on as part of the 14-person board, and will help in the search and selection process.  “Pertinent qualities [for a new director] would be fundraising, experience in how a museum operates, and most importantly, vast curatorial skill,” Baldessari said. “It would be a real opportunity to whoever is appointed, because there’s nowhere to go but up.” (more…)

Smithsonian Institution director G. Wayne Clough has announced his intentions to step down as the head of the national museum and research network next year, providing the institution with time to find his successor.  “When I became secretary in 2008, I believed strongly that the Smithsonian had enormous untapped potential, especially in digital technology, to reach millions of people and serve as a resource for those who cannot visit Washington,” He said. “I am confident that with our initiatives under way in bioconservation, education, digitization and fund-raising, this is the right time to announce my plans for next fall so that an orderly transition can begin.” (more…)

Filmmaker and artist Steve McQueen has taken top awards at the Toronto International Film Festival for his newest work, 12 Years a Slave.  Announced this week as the People’s Choice Award-winner, his film documents the life of Solomon Northrup, a black American kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841. (more…)

As the trial for the suspects in the 2012 theft from the Kunsthal Rotterdam looks to begin, Romanian director Tudor Giurgiu has begun work on a feature film about the suspected thieves, an action adventure that documents their rise to art world infamy.  “The subject sells itself, it is an excellent pretext for an action movie.”  Giurgiu said. (more…)

The impending departure of Jeffrey Deitch from MOCA has cast light on the numerous challenges that the museum faces as it begins its search for a new director.  Debates over curatorial capacity and fundraising were frequent points of contention during Deitch’s tenure, and will likely pose new hurdles when the museum begins to talk to potential candidates.  “Whoever they get to replace Jeffrey Deitch will need to have an absolute guarantee of complete curatorial freedom to do the shows they want, when they want,” says former Museum of Contemporary Art board member Dean Valentine, who currently serves on the advisory board at the Hammer Museum. (more…)

MOCA Director Jeffrey Deitch has officially announced his resignation, leaving the museum three years into his five year contract.  The museum has already formed a search party to locate his replacement, but Deitch will remain on board until a new director is found, helping to smoothen the transition, as well as to aid in the completion of MOCA’s ambitious $100 million endowment fundraising campaign, expected to conclude this fall.  “As colleagues, friends and great admirers of Jeffrey Deitch’s talent, we respect his decision and thank him for his tremendous dedication,” said MOCA Board co-chair David Johnson. “His efforts have helped to solidify MOCA’s financial stability while changing the way Angelenos, and those around the world, engage with contemporary art.” (more…)

Berggruen Museum head Olivier Berggruen is featured in the Wall Street Journal this week, after the reopening of his institution after a two year renovation.  Focusing on both 20th century masters like Picasso, Matisse, Paul Cézanne and Paul Klee, the museum also focuses on evolution of the art market itself, and consists of 165 works sold by Olivier’s father Heinz to the city of Berlin in 2000 for around $100 million. “He thought of paintings and works of art as illustrations for stories,” says Olivier of his father. (more…)

Jeffrey Deitch, via LA Weekly

MOCA Director Jeffrey Deitch may step down from his position at the Los Angeles institution, the LA Weekly reports.  Sources close to the museum have released information that Deitch will announce his departure on Wednesday, and that he is currently shopping for apartments in New York City. (more…)

Filmmaker Jem Cohen’s recently opened Museum Hours has garnished considerable attention, setting a story of friendship and art within Vienna’s Kunsthistoriches Museum.  “The use of the Kunsthistorisches is heartfelt and also very funny,” Says film critic Christoph Huber, “a slice of everyday life that I hardly see covered in my national cinema.” (more…)

Artist Takashi Murakami’s first feature-length film, Jellyfish Eyes, is set for its International premiere America this coming Monday at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  Taking place in a small Japanese town, the film follows a young boy who befriends a series of bizarre monsters after moving to a new town.  The screening of the film will also include a a Q-and-A with the director. (more…)

Russian billionaire Leonid Mikhelson has joined the board of trustees at The New Museum, mirroring the increasing number of international members on Museum boards across the U.S.  “As art is thriving in so many centers, it is imperative to have an active group of supporters with diverse perspectives and deep connections to these communities.”  Said New Museum director Lisa Phillips. (more…)