Vittoria Matarrese Appointed Director of Magasin in Grenoble Amid Institutional Challenges

On April 3, 2026, Vittoria Matarrese, a 56-year-old Italian architect and curator, was named the new director of Magasin, the National Center for Contemporary Art in Grenoble, France. She succeeds Céline Kopp, an art historian who previously led the institution. Matarrese brings extensive international experience, having served as artistic director at the Villa Medici in Rome from 2008 to 2010, worked on performing arts programming at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris from 2010 to 2022, and later held roles at the Bally Foundation in Lugano and as organizer of the inaugural Art Week Riyadh in 2025. She was also honored as a Chevalier of Arts and Letters in 2021. The appointment comes as Magasin, located in the Bouchayer Viallet hall, faces ongoing difficulties, including a history of leadership changes, extended closures for renovations, and recent social conflicts under Kopp's tenure, which began in January 2022. Despite these internal issues, such as staff disputes, strikes, and governance tensions with the city of Grenoble, the center received the national label for contemporary art institutions in 2025, highlighting a gap between its institutional recognition and operational realities. Matarrese's background in global arts management is seen as a potential direction for the center, which has been a pioneer in France since the late 1980s, integrating exhibitions, production, residencies, and curatorial training.