For the first time, the Guggenheim will be led by a woman: Mariët Westermann new director

For the first time in its history, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation will be directed by a woman: in fact, Mariët Westermann is the new director and CEO of the Guggenheim Museum in New York and its foundation. The new director will have oversight over the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, and will work together with the directors of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the future Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. Westermann, born in 1962, joins the Guggenheim bringing to bear his experience as a successful leader of world-renowned organizations in higher education and philanthropy. Westermann succeeds Richard Amstrong, who retired this summer.

Mariët Westermann, who is trained as an art historian, has led NYU Abu Dhabi, a research and liberal arts campus of New York University, as vice chancellor, managing director and professor of arts and humanities since 2019. At New York University Abu Dhabi, she has overseen all academic, administrative, financial and operational aspects. Westermann will officially join the Guggenheim on June 1, 2024.

J. Tomilson Hill, chairman of the board of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, emphasizes, "We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Westermann to the Guggenheim. We cast a very wide net and did extensive interviews to identify the right person for the Guggenheim at this time. Over the past six months we have used a systemic search process, using a values-based approach, in which we identified the qualities needed in our new director for them to be successful. We evaluated each candidate based on those attributes. Dr. Westermann brings a unique set of qualities and experiences to this critical role: a wide-ranging worldview, experience in managing multiple stakeholders and critical issues across multiple geographies, all rooted in a deeply held belief in scholarship, excellence, and the power of arts and culture to inspire and connect. We are committed to expanding the reach of the collection and expanding our global initiative while engaging diverse audiences and taking care of culture and staff development. I have known Dr. Westermann for over twenty-five years and look forward to working with her as we implement our strategic plan."

Wendy Fisher, Chair of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation Board of Trustees, says, "It is with great pleasure that we warmly welcome Dr. Westermann as the Guggenheim’s new director and CEO. I am confident that Dr. Westermann will ably support the founding vision of the institution by guiding our constellation of museums toward a more sustainable future, redefining the Guggenheim’s role in the public discourse, and opening our doors, physical or virtual, to an ever-widening public. From Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic building on Fifth Avenue, the Guggenheim has always sought to provoke new ways of thinking about and interacting with art, and Dr. Westermann’s impressive background makes her uniquely qualified to do just that. She brings to the table a myriad of accomplishments in art historical scholarship , the respect of her colleagues, experience as a leader of an international organization, and a fundamental belief in the transformative power of art. I look forward to working closely with her. I know we are in capable hands as we continue to think about what it means to be a truly global institution, the responsibility that comes with that, and how to operationalize those values."

“It is a great honor to join the Guggenheim, a unique institution with a beautiful mission dedicated to modern and contemporary art in four distinct museums on three continents,” Mariët Westermann emphasizes. “Each of the museums exists to create opportunities for anyone to interact with the transformative and connective power of art and artists, from New York to Bilbao to Venice to Abu Dhabi. I have been fortunate to have wonderful experiences as an art historian, educator, curator, philanthropist, and academic leader. The kind of complexity and high aspiration that have so motivated me in these previous roles have prepared me to help the Guggenheim realize its full potential as a constellation of museums, united in a single mission and fully rooted in their local environments and communities.”

Previously, Mariët Westermann served as executive vice president at the Mellon Foundation, faculty member and director at NYU/Institute of Fine Arts, associate director of research and academic programs at the Clark Art Institute, and faculty member at Rutgers University. She earned her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Williams College and her master’s and doctoral degrees in art history from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Westermann has received fellowships, awards and grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Philosophical Society, the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, the Clark Art Institute, the College Art Association and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Specializing in the art of the Netherlands, Mariët Westermann is the author of numerous books, articles and exhibition essays on Dutch art and artists, museums, and the state and future of higher education. On behalf of the Mellon Foundation, she commissioned and published (with Roger Schonfeld and Liam Sweeney) two critical research studies on staff diversity in the museum sector. In 2020, Westermann led Reframing Museums, a major international conference on the future of museums, organized with New York University Abu Dhabi and the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

He serves on the boards of ALIPH - The International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas, the Educational Testing Service and the Rijksmuseum, and chairs the Scholar Rescue Fund of the Institute of International Education. In Abu Dhabi, he is a board member of AmCham Abu Dhabi and the Business Council of the United States-United Arab Emirates.

For the first time, the Guggenheim will be led by a woman: Mariët Westermann new director

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