MASI Lugano seeks new director after Marco Franciolli's departure

The Museo d'arte della Svizzera italiana (MASI) in Lugano has launched an open call for a new director, following the decision of current director Marco Franciolli to step down. The museum was created through the merger of the Museo Cantonale and the Museo d'Arte di Lugano as part of a structural revision of cultural policies in Italian-speaking Switzerland. MASI operates two venues: LAC, dedicated to 20th-century and contemporary art exhibitions, and Palazzo Reali, focused on local art history and specific collection nuclei. The application deadline is March 31, 2017. Candidates must have an academic background, significant experience leading an art museum, proficiency in Italian and English (preferably a second Swiss official language), a good knowledge of the Swiss museum landscape, and a solid international network. They should also possess motivational and personnel management skills, ability to develop international exhibition projects, strong communication skills, and capacity to foster patronage and sponsor acquisition. The selection committee is chaired by Carmen Gimenez, Senior Curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum New York, and includes Gianna Mina (Director of Museo Vincenzo Vela Ligornetto and President of the Swiss Museums Association), Anna Coliva (Director of Galleria Borghese Rome), Josef Helfenstein (Director of Kunstmuseum Basel), and Max Hollein (Director of Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco).