Irene Hofmann, Executive Director of the Contemporary Museum, has accepted a position as Director and Chief Curator of SITE Santa Fe, announced Contemporary Museum board president Pamela Berman. Hofmann joined the Contemporary Museum in 2006, and will assume her new role in October 2010.
A search committee has been created and will soon convene to identify candidates for the Contemporary Museum position.
“Irene’s creativity and influence have raised the profile of the Contemporary Museum locally and nationally,” said Berman. “Thanks to Irene, the Contemporary is financially strong and stable. Under her exceptional leadership, the museum has created thought-provoking exhibitions, three of which have traveled to peer institutions across the nation. She has initiated projects that encourage public participation, and developed meaningful collaborations that explore contemporary art in all forms.”
Added Berman, “Irene’s career move is an expected transition in the evolution of a vibrant institution likethe Contemporary. We wish only the best for Irene and are proud to have been a part of her dynamic career.”
During Hofmann’s tenure, the Contemporary Museum’s achievements have had significant impact on Baltimore’s cultural community, as well as nationally. Her visionary initiatives and successful projects have included ambitious new works commissioned from internationally-respected artists such as Joseph Grigely, Fritz Haeg, Kianga Ford, Lisa Ann Auerbach, and Bradley McCallum and Jacqueline Tarry. The museum’s Cell Phone: Art and the Mobile Phone exhibition was the first museum-based show devoted to art specifically created for cell phones. In the past four years, the Contemporary has been featured in such prestigious publications as Art in America, Art Papers, Art News, The Art Newspaper, and Modern Art Notes.
Hofmann also supported the creation of a new contemporary music series, Mobtown Modern; hosted discussions on contemporary culture through the New Art Dialogue Series; and reinvigorated the museum’s Art Explorer program with excursions to burgeoning art centers throughout the United States. New audiences have been welcomed to the museum through unique new partnerships with a variety of institutions, including the Maryland Institute College of Art and University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Baltimore Choral Arts Society; Maryland Art Place; and the Walters Art Museum.
“I am thrilled to have helped the Contemporary Museum assume its rightful place as the champion of contemporary culture in Baltimore,” said Hofmann. “The potential for the museum, the city, and the region is unlimited, and I am honored to have collaborated with so many talented, creative people to move it forward. I look forward to seeing the growth of the Contemporary Museum under new leadership, and will remain one of its strongest advocates.”
For more information about the Contemporary Museum, visit www.contemporary.org.
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