The Museum of Arts and Design has announced that its next director will be Jorge Daniel Veneciano, an Argentinian-born scholar and curator who comes to the premier museum for art and design from craft materials from his position as executive director of another New York City institution, El Museuo del Barrio, which is dedicated to Latin American and Carribean art. Veneciano will succeed Glenn Adamson as the museum's Nanette L. Laitman Director, with a start date of October 3, 2016. In her comments, the museum's board chair cites Veneciano's experience and vision as keys to broadening MAD's ability to connect with a diverse population.
"I have been enthralled with MAD ever since it opened on Columbus Circle," said Veneciano in a prepared statement. "The Museum has been nothing short of magical in its presentations, and I'd like to see it reach more visitors and new audiences, to share with them the Museum's attention to the power of art in the making of worldly things. MAD is brimming with potential, and I am excited to work with its passionate board and staff in directing the Museum to its destiny of leadership among New York institutions."
"We are thrilled to welcome Daniel to MAD," said the museum's board chair Michele Cohen in a prepared statement. "In addition to strong leadership skills, he brings to the Museum decades of experience at national contemporary art institutions, and his vision will enable us to further connect with our diverse city and visitors."
Mike De Paola, the MAD trustee who chaired the search committee, cited the good match Veneciano makes for the museum's chief curator Sharon Stratton. "Daniel's arrival will support and expand upon the scholarship and vision of our Chief Curator, Shannon R. Stratton, allowing MAD to present cutting-edge and insightful exhibitions that showcase contemporary visual art and culture through the lens of craft," De Paola said in a prepared statement.
Veneciano brings wide experience as a museum director effective at building attendance as well as a highly-educated arts writer. Before his appointment to executive director of El Museuo del Barrio in December 2013, he served as director of the Sheldon Museum of Art in Lincoln, Nebraska for five years where he boosted attendance to record levels through a combination of community networking, and savvy acquisitions. He also served as a curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem (1994–1999), and worked at the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (1991–1994).
Veneciano brings impressive academic credentials to the position, holding a PhD in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University; an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts; and a BA from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has taught at Columbia and Rhode Island School of Design.