The Royal Institute of Art names curator Marta Kuzma as its new Vice Chancellor. The formal appointment will be made by the Swedish government. Kuzma, who was previously the director of The Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA), will take over after Måns Wrange. She will be the first non-artist to lead the Royal Institute. In a press release Kuzma emphasizes the importance of formulating visions while still tending to the institution as community:
“I am very happy to have been chosen to lead The Royal Institute of Art as Vice Chancellor in the years ahead. I believe that leading an art institution today must be creative in character, visionary in formulation, critical in structure and acumen, but more importantly generous in terms of community building wherein the rektor plays a pivotal role in catalyzing that community. This implies fostering a cooperative relationship with the institution as a whole – the students, the faculty, the teachers, the administration – in an effort to strengthen the school as a vigorous and self-conscious institution.”
Kunstkritikk has previously reported on the appointment process of the new Vice Chancellor, revealing a short list of three names. Alongside Stockholm-based artists and previous Royal Institute professors Peter Hagdahl and Johan Scott, Kuzma was standing out as a curator and non-Swede. A final round stood between Kuzma and Scott, and according to sources within the Royal Institute, the support for Kuzma was unanimous among students, Ph. D. Candidates, professors, and general staff.
Marta Kuzma (b. 1964 in USA) is a curator and critic. She was a member of the curatorial team of Carolyn Christov Bakargiev for Documenta 13, co-curator of Manifesta 5, and director of the International Exhibitions Programme at the International Center of Photography in New York. She has published in Radical Philosophy, Afterall, Artforum, Art Review, Flash Art och Mousse. Kuzma was the director of The Office for Contempary Art Norway (OCA) 2005-2013. Currently she is a professor of Art Theory at the Instituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia, and a visiting professor at the Universita Bocconi, Milano.
Updated 20.02.2014, 10:43.
